Aboiteau
by Noke Neko Lover
Summary: He never thought that he would be lured in by those violet-blue eyes, but he did. He always thought that it was only the money that mattered in these situations. Both were wrong. PruCan. Slight Spamano. Human names mentioned. AU situation implied. Various couples may be mentioned, not guaranteed.
1. The Beginning

_Disclaimer: Honestly, if I really did own Hetalia, don't you think that I would be swimming in money right now?  
><em>_I do not own any brands, music, or drinks mentioned within this fic.__  
><em>_Those all belong to their respective owners.._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter One – Matthew<strong>_

Why life is really nice to him for one minute and then decides that he doesn't deserve it, he doesn't even have the faintest clue.

It tries and takes it back and has to make him suffer, he will never know the reason why.

But what he does know is that the college you go to is that of your own free will.

Most people who try to go to college go for getting a good-paying job that makes it as a good career for themselves as a living of their choice right?

In most cases, that would absolutely be held as the truth.

Well, most people are not like Matthew Williams.

If it were his choice, then he would have gone to college and earn a doctoral degree so that he could become a pediatrician. He enjoys working with kids himself because he feels as if he knows what will make them pay attention to what a doctor would tell them.

That and because he feels that if he can't be able to change something within _his _life, then he can at least know that he would be able to change that child's life in one way or another.

Yep, if he had a choice.

Or option.

…

Too bad that he wasn't given a choice nor a second option.

His father would automatically leave him in the same room if Matthew so much as even mentions about the job that he currently has. Add that to the fact that Matthew is not an assertive person—and well, that practically adds up the situation that he seems to have had gotten himself currently involved in.

Maple.

Well, at least he's getting a decent pay for what his job entitles him to do.

His only complaint is: he wished that he didn't have to go in everyday of the week, go in at a time when most people would be coming home from a stressful day and making dinner for their loved ones. Poor Kumajirou, what is he going to do if Matthew isn't there to feed him?

He releases a huge sigh.

Who's he kidding?

Kumajirou forgets him on a daily basis. If the polar bear isn't busy asking who he is, which is hurtful enough in that of itself, then he's busy looking around for a place to sleep or shuffle in the kitchen and say that he's hungry, and then go back to sleep.

"You would think that he would remember me by now," Matthew muttered as he looked from side to side of the street before walking quickly across the half-empty street.

Passing through with the group of people who go in the same direction as him, he notices that the sidewalks are more manageable to go through. And seeing as it's a Monday, not that many people are going to go through these certain streets; Matthew starts to feel less stressed out and eases up on his strict pace—ever so slightly as to where he was walking towards.

And it's not _weird _where he was walking at.

Nope.

Or _awkward _for him.

Yep, not awkward at all.

Not one bit.

You see, since his father refused to let him go to college to get his _medical _degree, he ended up going to college for a _business _degree instead.

Ugh.

Matthew doesn't like the concept of the currency behind money _nor_business.

But he wasn't given a choice now, was he?

No, he was never given a choice on which school to go to or to which college he would be able to enjoy.

Even if it _has _business management classes.

As he continued walking down the sidewalk, he started to notice more and more groups of people waiting in a line outside of a building.

The building looked like one of those that would rather be used as a business office for supplies instead of what it really is used for. The only drawback is that instead of where windows should be proudly displayed, there are outlines of window frames to give it the appearance of it having windows.

It's actually pretty clever, if you didn't dwell on it for too long.

The building itself is white with the panels the color of a dark blue hue that blends really well with the building, but is automatically noticed within the block that it residents itself in.

There is a sign that looks as if it managed to grow out the building, the same color scheme as the building itself. The sign says:

À Deux:

Restaurant — Night Club — Bar

Matthew sighs.

Every time he sees that sign, he wonders why they don't just remove the word 'Bar' since technically when 'Night Club' is mentioned it automatically means that there is a bar.

But his father _insists_ on having it there.

_Clarification_ for the customers, his father claims.

Biscuits.

At least he doesn't have to go in the daytime and get bugged the crap out of Alfred when he's working as the waiter. Alfred should stick as a waiter and not try to work his way into a more difficult position. Honestly, he does a great job as a waiter.

But as a cook or a bartender?

…

Naturally, it spells disaster.

Matthew looks around the line of people trying to find out who the bouncer for tonight is.

Sometimes it's Yao.

Rarely is it Antonio.

A majority of the time it ends up being Ludwig since he can obviously do his job right, without the worry that something might be missed. For example: those who are minors under twenty-one are trying to sneak in the club past the bouncer, and those who are of legal age that aren't trying to outsmart said bouncer.

When Antonio fills in for Yao, he doesn't tend to do his job according to the way that Arthur keeps on telling François to pass along towards Antonio.

Needed explained in lay man's terms, right?

It means that Antonio has a tendency to claim that he knows how old someone is by just looking at their appearance or their I.D., but never both at the same time.

Even to at least see that there isn't any fake I.D.'s floating around. Although about half of the time he's shamelessly flirting with young ladies who aren't even of legal age!

Well, the problem practically speaks for itself, right?

With Yao, he just seems to forget that he's supposed to let them through _after_he's done checking that they are of age.

Seeing that Ludwig was the bouncer for the night made Matthew release a rather big sigh of relief. Staring at the long line in front of him, he was deciding on whether or not he should just wait until the line has managed to wind down.

He patiently brings out his phone and almost died of panic when he saw that the screen on the phone read: 7:45 p.m. If he doesn't get a move on, then he knows for sure that he's going to become late.

And he really doesn't want to hear it from Romano on how late he was on a _Monday_, of all days. He mostly doesn't want to get on the Italian's bad side so early in the night before it even begins.

Matthew quickly tries to move up the line, ignoring the dirty looks that people were giving him as he kept on stumbling his way to the front of the line. Just as he was almost within reach of the start of the line, a woman firmly grabs Matthew by the arm of his jacket and hurls him back behind her.

"Who do you think you are? Trying to cut to the front of the line like that!" She said, tugging him with more force, making him fall even more behind than to what he originally was.

Matthew started to struggle a bit from within her grasp.

"I-I'm so-so-sorry if it looks like that. But if you could just please let me go? I'm already running late as it is—" He said, still struggling to see if she will let him go.

"Oh no you don't! You should be sent to the back of the line. Or better yet—" She started to grab him fully by the arm now, "You should be banned from this place!" She said, ready to twist his arm.

"Please! No! I didn't do it on purpose!" Matthew cried out as he started to struggle with much more vigor.

'Oh isn't this fuckin' great? First I tell Kumajirou not to wait up for me so that he won't go hungry. Then I find out that I have no gas so I go walking to the fuckin'

club. And now I might just possibly lose an arm all because I need to get to work on fuckin' time! This is sooooooo not my day…' Matthew thought as the woman starts to pull him to the bouncer with her.

He was about to give up and say "_fuck it_" when a warm hand unclasped the woman's rough hold on his arm.

"Is everything alright ma'am?" Asked a masculine voice, laced with concern, from above.

Both pause as they realize that they have managed to make a scene in front of the line, bouncer included. Matthew, who was the one closest of the two towards said bouncer, opened his clenched eyes from intimidation rather than fear saw blonde hair and blue eyes.

He wanted to sob in relief that he was going to be spared. But before Matthew could so much as even utter a word of thanks to the German, the woman beat him to the punch.

"This young man was trying to be sneaky and cut to the very front of the line!" She shrieked, glaring at Matthew the entire time.

Embarrassed, Matthew responded, "I didn't do it on purpose. I was originally going to go through the side door, but seeing as it was getting late I decided to go through the front."

He pauses, making Ludwig and the woman look at him oddly. "_Fuck_! Romano is going to kill me at any moment now!" Matthew moans out, messing up his hair with one hand while the other is covering his eyes in mortification.

"Did you say Romano?" Ludwig asks Matthew, mentally willing himself to not grab the boy by his shoulders and start shaking him violently for not mentioning Romano sooner.

Matthew looks up at Ludwig in disbelief.

"Romano is going to kill me if I'm not in _before _eight!" Matthew shrieks desperately, running both of his hands through his hair as if he's ready to rip it all out of his scalp.

"Mon _Dieu_! Why do I always seem to attract _bad _luck instead of _good _luck, when I need good luck the most in these situations?" He moaned, already trying to look

for the side entrance since he was wasting enough time as it is.

Ludwig focused his attention at Matthew since he started to ranted incomprehensively. "Let me see your I.D.," he says slowly.

Matthew stopped his ranting (in French), fishes out his I.D. from his back pocket, and hands it to Ludwig.

'_You have got to be fuckin' shitting me! _Now_ he fuckin' chooses to see my I.D. This is the worst moment for him to fuckin' forgotten who I am!_'

In his frustration, Matthew pulls out his phone to see if he spent too much time in the front with Ludwig.

He desperately hopes not.

It read 7:50 p.m.

He calmly closes his phone and puts it in his pocket.

He swallows thickly. If Lutz didn't hurry this up then he will have to call Ivan and help him bust through the door to get the fuckin' hell in side of this stupid club! And next time, he will go through the fucking side door like the little bitch that it is…

They were all (including Matthew himself) going to be at the mercy of Romano, his tomatoes, and his olives if Ludwig doesn't let him pass through as of right now!

Matthew squeaks as he's brought out of his thoughts by feeling Ludwig put his hand upon his shoulder.

"You better hurry up there Matthew. I do _not _want to be on the bad end of the stick with Romano concerning why one of his employees is being held up by a 'Potatoe Bastard.' I apologize for not having recognized you sooner," Ludwig said, giving Matthew a small smile as a way to amend the damage that he has caused.

"Wait a minute! What the hell is going on right here? How can you let this young man go all Scott-free? He deserves to go to the back of the line!" The woman said, still trying to prove that she still has a sense of power over the situation at hand.

"Just because you didn't get laid yesterday, doesn't mean that you should take out your frustration on Mattie here. You should be ashamed of yourself for even going this far Diana."

The young woman kept her mouth in embarrassment as a young man with dirty blond and ocean blue eyes comes walking to them from the side walk.

The young man wore glasses just like Matthew and his head was adorned with a small curl near the front of his face. He's wearing a black leather jacket, a red ultra-tight V-neck, some blue Levi's®jeans, and a pair of black dress shoes.

He saunters his way over to where Matthew, Diana, Ludwig, but he stopped in front of Matthew.

"What, no 'Thank You' Mattie?" He says as he winked at Matthew. Matthew stared at the blond with his mouth agape in disbelief.

He shakes his head from side to side.

"W-What are you doing here at this hour Al? I thought that your shift ended hours ago…," Matthew said, silently cursing Alfred for making him get in even more late than what is expected out of him.

Double maple.

"Hm? Oh, Franny switched my hours since Iggy was complaining that I got in his way during the daytime!" Alfred said, giving Matthew a peace sign while smiling.

He groaned.

"Romano is going to kill me in—" checks phone, "—5 minutes, Al has managed to become the new waiter for the night, and Kumajirou most likely ate all of the food within my house! Worst night ever!" Matthew shouted, running his hands throughout his hair in irritation.

Alfred and Ludwig stared at each other, and then back at Matthew in fear. If there was one thing that no one wanted to see, it was that nobody wants to see Romano become upset. Not if they value sparing the chance to see Ivan coming over.

And Matthew is pretty sure that his father wants to see that the building is still standing for tomorrow.

Before anybody could so much as comment, the front door to À Deux opened and out popped a light brown-haired person with a big curl coming from the left side of his head.

"Ve, is Matthew here yet? Fratello looks like he's about to throw stuff around the club if Matthew doesn't show up in—" Feliciano says, looking from the line of people to where Ludwig, Alfred, and Matthew were at.

Until he spots Matthew.

"There you are Matthew! Quickly, come with me before Romano really gets mad," Feliciano says, walking and dragging Matthew with him inside. Alfred followed closely behind as Ludwig went to the front of the line.

He came up to Diana with a glare. "You almost cost us to find another person who can be able to bartend as well as Matthew Williams!"

Diana looked at Ludwig in confusion before she stared at him in shock as she realized what she had almost managed to make the club lose.

That's right. Matthew is the bartender at À Deux.

And what's ironic about it is: he's really good at it.

Yeah, it may sound like he's bragging about himself, but let's face it.

He has managed to get the toughest critics within all of Los Angeles to want to come to À Deux for a night of fun.

And that's from all of the reviews that have managed to even name — let alone mention — his name and the club.

He never thought that he would work in the club as a bartender. Yeah sure, he knows how to cook and let's face it; he knows how to act as an impressionable

waiter or even as a host!

But as a bartender?

Not really something that he could try to picture himself as.

When he first heard from his father that he was going to be the new bartender for À Deux, he never thought that he would be able to keep that job.

He laughed hysterically and said that if he was going to be the bartender, then they "might as well try to put Alfred as the waiter." He said it as a joke, but he knew the moment when Arthur and François looked at him with calm gazes, he was going to be the new bartender.

Matthew really doesn't like disobeying his father, so he accepted the job.

And he soon discovered how much of a hassle it would cause him.

* * *

><p>"What?"<p>

Matthew did all that he could to not sigh in defeat, but he did it anyway. _'This night is just turning out for the worst,'_thought Matthew. And it really didn't help in his case that Romano was just looking at him.

He assumed that if he just told Romano what exactly kept him for fifteen minutes, Romano might actually consider forgiving him.

But all that he managed to get out of him was a 'what?'

Well, he should be thankful that Romano even managed to listen to him this far…

"I-I'm really sorry Romano! I really shouldn't have had bothered to have gone through the main entrance, but I was already running late as it was! Please don't hurt me!" Matthew pleaded as he was getting down on his knees, and clasped his hands together in front of himself.

Romano looked at Matthew impassively as he heard said person ranting about not being late on purpose, along with the excessive pleading in the background.

He releases a huge sigh and starts walking over to Matthew. Matthew, already anxious, started to plead more hysterically as he slowly saw Romano slowly advance towards him.

He closes his eyes as he nervously thought of the choice of words that Romano would tell him that he was going to be fired, shove, punch, or even hit him.

He hears a scoff coming from above him instead.

He looks up in hesitation and sees Romano put his right hand on his right hip as his sigh made the curl on the right side of his head bounce slightly.

"What the hell am I going to do with you Matt?" Romano said in his usual snot-nose bratty way of his.

Matthew goes absolutely still as he sees that what he just thought might come true.

Romano raises an eyebrow at him.

"You seriously thought that I was going to fire you over you coming to work late for the first time?" Romano said, with laughter ringing in his voice. At this, Matthew grew more panicky.

Romano sighed.

"Matthew, you are one of our best bartenders that we've had since Frederick. You really think that we're going to fire you because you were…," Romano takes a

quick glance at his watch, "…5 minutes late? Well, you're not so stop worry about it.

"Since you're always here on time, it's not counted against you…just don't let it become a habit, you got that?" Romano said; hand still on his hip and his body flaring out with attitude.

He has never looked more intimidating to Matthew before than now.

He shudders.

He felt as if though he was going to pass out.

Right here on the floor.

"A-Are you telling me that since I'm not going to be fired—which I am really thankful for—that I'm not going to be repaying you in any special way?" Matthew asked, surprise written all over his face as his eyebrows rose up.

Romano slowly smirks as he lets out a bark of laughter. While he was telling Matthew this, Matthew slowly got up from groveling on the floor.

His eyes widen as he absorbs what Romano has managed to say, sink in: Romano isn't angry at him for being late, but he's not letting him go unscathed.

Pause.

Triple Maple.

This really isn't going to end well, is it?

Romano gives Matthew a stern look as he sits on a chair behind his desk.

His office has nice beige toned furniture, his walls a pale pasty yellow; the carpet rug a richly wine color, the desk a nice polished mahogany color. Only Romano's chair was made out of black leather than beige.

The office was furnished as any other stereotypical club, except that he prefers to have the light on since it's 'retarded that you can't just turn the fucking light on instead of stumbling in the dark.'

In his opinion at any rate.

He extended his hand towards the two seats, in front of his desk, at Matthew. Matthew quickly stumbles his way towards the seat near the right.

As soon as he sat down, he brought his hands on his lap and looked nervously at Romano, fearing the worst.

Romano clasps his hands in front of Matthew, resting his head onto of said hands; he looks directly at him.

"You're going to be punished. But it's not going to seem as awful as you think it is. Now let me see—," Romano says, rummaging through his drawers. Matthew, feeling frozen, looks at Romano in horror as he dreads what he plans on making Matthew do.

"Aha! Found it!" Romano said, pulling out a small black and bounded book. He looks at Matthew slowly and sneers at him.

"Now then, are you ready to start today or wait until tomorrow?"

Matthew swallows.

Yep, definitely not going to end well on his part.

"Can I at least hear what I am going to be doing?" Matthew asks in a hopeful voice.

Romano slowly smirks.

"How about I make you start tomorrow instead?"

"What?"

"I have a feeling you're going to want to start tomorrow anyway, right?"

And to think that he was going to have to worry about it being a Monday...


	2. She's Not Even Worth It

_**A/N: Since I didn't mention this last time: **_

_**Would you mind leaving a review behind. I would really like to know if this is coming out alright...**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Two – Gilbert<strong>_

"Are you serious?"

Silence.

"You're seriously going to leave me hanging like this?"

Still no response.

"What kind of a person would do this?"

Footsteps walking away.

"Hey! I'm not done talking to you!"

He ignores her as he makes his way over to his motorcycle. He got on, thrust his key in the ignition, and started to pull his bike towards the street.

Honestly, that was the last time that he decides to listen to Elizaveth when it comes to picking up chicks at a bar.

It's annoying by itself that what's-her-name…

Natsumi?

Natalie?

Nana?

Whatever—oh! It's Diana.

…

Right.

Well, it doesn't matter.

That chick was so absorbed on talking about herself, that she didn't want to hook-up at all! Just kept on complaining about this dude not letting her hook-up with

her.

Fuck.

Even the awesome Gilbert can see why that dude didn't want to get with that chick…

Ugh.

Not only was she thirty-five, boring, and somewhat plain, but fucking hell she just wouldn't stop talking stupidly to even bother flirting with him.

He's too awesome for that shit!

Seriously though, he's amazed at himself for not just getting up and walking away instead of putting up with what that weirdo had to say about herself.

Sure, it's understandable when someone is confidante about themselves, but this fucking chick just kept on talking.

And talking.

And talking.

For forty-five minutes straight!

'_Fuck, Elizaveth said that there was this _really_ cute chick, who works at that one night club that she likes to go to often…,_' Gilbert thinks as he stops at a red light.

He freezes and slaps his hand on his forehead.

Really hard.

'_I really am a fucktard. How the hell could I forget something as important as that?_' He thought as he saw the street light change from red to green.

He reeves up his motorcycle and starts to breeze through the rest of the cars who are trying to go through traffic.

After a couple of streets later, he stops in front of a middle-class structured house. Hell, if oyu thought that the awesomeness that is Gilbert would be living in an apartment.

Fuck that!

It'd be bad enough that he won't be able to hook-up with a cutie, but to see kids (brats in his opinion) running around all over the place as if the whole apartment complex belonged to them!

Nope.

Not going to deal with that kind of stress.

Not at all.

He gets off his bike and starts to head for the door, taking his time to think about what he ended up doing today in high speed.

'_Why the hell did I leave the house in such a hurry? I know that part of it was because I was eager to hook-up with someone tonight, but, there had to be another reason…,_'

He thinks pensively.

'_Let me see…it started when I came home from work…,_' he thinks as he sits down on the porch, recalling the day's events that took place…

~ 3 Hours Earlier ~

"Dude…seriously? Are you seriously telling me that my two best friends–both men, mind you Fran—have hooked-up, gotten together, and _now_you bother to tell me about what happened in the past as of right now?" Gilbert accuses instead of asking for an explanation from Antonio and François.

It didn't really help in Gilbert's case that the Bad Touch Trio was currently sitting inside one of their favorite hang-out spots that the three choose to be at during their break.

Well, at least Gil and Toni have their break at around the same time.

Given that they work at the same restaurant, never mess around, and hardly talk to each other.

Somewhat.

If you really pay close attention to how Gil and Toni work at Canorous restaurant, located a block or two away from À Deux; the restaurant—bar—night club (although if you ask Gil, it sounds more like a bar than an actual restaurant), you would notice that whenever Kiku Honda—their boss—would walk away after giving them their quota for the day, Gilbert and Antonio would automatically start talking about methods on how to always go past the quota by a stretch.

It would always be agreed that Gilbert would be the host and Antonio the waiter; always attending to the men with the upmost respect and to the women being a flirty gentleman.

Though, if you were to focus on those two for the whole day, then you would notice that they do not utter a single word to each other throughout the entire time.

Only when it comes towards breaks or closing time, do they merely hint at being at "said place" or "at this time," but if you didn't catch that look in their eye that speaks of friendship, then it would simply look as if they are just employees instead of mutual friends.

Which leads back to the problem at hand: how long did François stay with Antonio, broke-up, and never bothered to tell Gilbert about it? Let alone knowing how difficult it was not to let it bother one another in front of him?

Both just simply stared and tried to tell Gilbert to calm down.

He ignored them.

"How the hell can you guys do this to me? I thought that we understood each other enough to not let something as important as a _relationship_to get the better of us!"

Antonio looked as if he's already given up on the matter, apologizing to the waitress who was fluttering to and fro from their table, asking if everything was alright; François was trying to placate Gilbert by telling him to tone it down (again to no avail).

"And for how _long_have you guys dated each other— let alone break up! — that you dare to even mention this to me?"

He was still awarded with silence.

"For seven frackin' years you've managed to let this charade go on!"

He nods as he sees that France and Toni were _still_not responding (nor defending) to a single comment that he has managed to say to them.

The only comments he received were a 'Hush!' or a 'Keep your voice down Gil!'

"Hush!" Antonio says, as if already proving his point that they haven't been very friendly— but hey, how would he know?

He just found out that his two bff's were frackin' getting _really_friendly with each other, ended it, and _then_bother to even say shit about it!

"Really Gilbert, we would have thought that you would behave better than this…," France said in distain, with Antonio agreeing with a shake of his head.

Gil glared at France and Toni.

"What did you expect from me, huh? An 'Oh, really? It's no big deal. I mean, we are still friends, right?'

"Like fucking hell I would end up saying something like that so quickly…," Gilbert muttered, not noticing the flash of pain obviously held within two pairs of eyes.

"What will it take for you to understand that we just want to talk about the past and move on?" Antonio said, gone was his happy-go-luck tone that he used

practically with everyone.

Gilbert, opening his mouth, closed it and paused.

What _are _they going to do, now that it's out France and Toni had a thing for each other…?

"Look, it's none of my business of what you plan on saying to one another…I just feel as if I've been slapped, you know?

"I mean, how would you feel if you just found out that you can't step foot within one of your best friends' house one day, and to not even be explained?"

Both Antonio and François, whose gazes strayed from the person talking in front of themselves, turned to look at Gilbert as he fought for words on what to say about their uncomfortable situation.

Although it was far from uncomfortable, France and Toni seemed to understand what Gil was trying to say.

Both felt a stab of pure guilt for deceiving their friend for so long and not even bothering to explain to at least why they did the stuff that they did…

"Well…I obviously see that I'm the only person participating in this conversation…," Gilbert makes his way out of the table, grabbing his jacket while doing so heading towards the door.

"…But I'm afraid that I'm going to need some time to think this through…You both understand right?"

Gilbert turns to look at France who looks a's if he's been slapped in the face, and Antonio who just shook his head in agreement.

"I'll give you guys a phone call on where to meet up next, alright?" Gilbert said, his hand already enclosing the doorknob.

"Hey Toni, could you cover for me today?" Gilbert asks, seeing that Antonio nods his head in agreement.

He pauses.

"Don't assume that I'm running away Fran, I just….I just need time to organize my thoughts…

"They're really mixed right now, and I don't want to say something that will _really_ruin our friendship, you know?

"So I'm going to need a few days— a week— basically some time before I can say what I think properly," Gilbert muttered quietly as he finally stepped out of the café.

He puts on his jacket and heads over to his lovely lady waiting by the side walk just for him. And every single time that he sees her, he feels guilty for leaving her there by herself.

Hell, she could easily be kidnapped or stolen, just because he doesn't bother to properly bind her to stay there…

Oh you thought that he was talking about a really girl?

Nah, not even!

He's more obsessed with his motorcycle at the moment that a mere girl to capture his attention.

And what a beauty she is!

The newest edition of a Harley-Davidson® yet, enough to make Gilbert so much as drool every time he touches her.

He gets on, relishing the way she fits so perfectly against his body (not in a perverted way), puts on his sunglasses because the awesomeness that is Gilbert doesn't want to his eyes to be all watery from the quick ride from the café to his house.

As he swerves his way from the café to the house, he thinks about how the conversation between the three of them could have been handled a bit more differently…

He sighed.

He probably shouldn't be thinking about what just happened while being on the road.

He knows that if he forgets about it at the moment, then the fair way to respond to that problem will come naturally to him.

So that ends that as of right now…

He gets off his bike as he nears the house. Hell, he's not going to be yelled at by Elizaveth, Roderick, AND the stupid neighbors about his preference towards motorcycles…

He pulls his bike into the driveway just as he sees a black Toyota Camry® where he's supposed to leave his bike at.

"Hey, I got here first you know!" Gilbert said to the person who was still obviously inside of the car.

They open the car door, and a woman who looks to be within her late twenties steps out. She is wearing a white button-up shirt tucked into her black dress pants.

She isn't wearing any jewelry besides the ring on her third finger of her left hand.

Her sparkling bluish-green eyes framed with mascara emphasizing her auburn hair look at Gilbert with an eyebrow raised that says 'So?'

Gilbert, knowing that he wasn't going to win anyway, pulls up his bike in the garage with a huff.

"I'm guessing that work must have had been a bitch today in order for you to look even more annoyed than usual," Elizaveth said to Gilbert, walking to the front steps of the house, key in hand.

"Yeah right. Work was easy compared to what awaited me as soon as I was having my break with Toni and France!" Gilbert muttered as he followed Elizaveth into the kitchen.

"Now, what could they have had said to get you all upset like this? There _has _to be a reason Gil," Elizaveth said making her way past Gil, who started working on making something to eat for the both to enjoy, onto her bedroom which was past the kitchen.

"Who cares about what happens to me? Anyways, what do you want me to make this time?" Gilbert said, bending over the island in the middle of the kitchen to get some pots and pans.

What, you thought that Elizaveth was going to make it instead?

She _hates _cooking every day.

So Gil mostly cooks as to get good at cooking, while also getting on Elizaveth's good side…

Elizaveth steps back into the kitchen with an orange t-shirt, some black flats, and blue shorts.

"Hm…what do you feel like making today?" Elizaveth asks, noticing that Gilbert was starting to get some ingredients from the refrigerator.

Oh my, are those ingredients for lasagna?

"What does it look like I'm making Liz?" Gilbert says, getting the ingredients from the fridge to the counter-top island.

"Well…you normally make lasagna when you're _really_pissed…And I'm assuming that it was your friends who got you all fired up like this…," Elizaveth said,

noticing how Gilbert wasn't even listening to her (usual behavior) and instead muttering (not the usual behavior).

"Oh since when did you become _such_an expert concerning my patterns?" Gilbert said, noticing that he managed to hurt Elizaveth's feelings.

He also knew that Elizaveth didn't chose to become a therapist out of her free will. Her father (his dad's best friend, mind you) automatically wanted her to become one so that she can help her father 'finally' solve the puzzle that was her mother.

Originally, both parents were the stereo-typical pair that loved each other with the same goals in mind. They both wanted to have kids, have them grow up, and spend the rest of their days in happy ignorant bliss.

Well for the first part, they _did _have kids; just that the number of them came down to two.

Anastasia was born first, and then Elizaveth.

Elizaveth and Anastasia were both welcomed within the household. Since Anastasia was the oldest, Elizaveth followed her around everywhere.

Even when it came to careers in school.

But her father didn't want Elizaveth to become a _pharmacist_(he scoffed) like Anastasia, he wanted her to become a therapist (psychologist, though it's the same thing).

Anastasia, thrilled that Elizaveth was going to take their father's words to heart, started to say how annoying it was in the past for Elizaveth to be copying her every step of the way. And that now she's glad that Elizaveth could _really_start to focus on her studies.

Elizaveth, feeling abandoned (and back-stabbed), ran away from her home, came over to Gilbert's house, and crashed in Gil's room.

Since they've been best friends and next-door neighbors for their entire lives (not to mention that he had a 'thing' for her), Gilbert let her stay in his room until they could both find an apartment or house for the both of them to live in (and maybe good even further).

By the time that both of their parents found out what exactly they were planning, they have managed to find a nice house within a respectable neighborhood that was far away from their parents' homes.

But that's not his story to tell.

He looks up to see Elizaveth shaking in anger.

"That's not a fair thing to say to me Gil. I have never mentioned Ludwig and Feliciano—" Gilbert flinched at that, "—so I hardly see why you would that on me! If you want to not talk to me about this kind of stuff then fine!

"But don't expect me to accept you with open arms and be your shoulder of comfort whenever it feels too awkward for you again! Roderick feels that I shouldn't babysit you so much now that you're an adult," Elizaveth said, staying rooted to the island chair that she sat on during the entire time she was talking to him.

"Oh _great_, you're mentioning that guy again…," Gil muttered assembling all of the ingredients together and putting it in the baking sheet, turning on the oven while doing so.

He hears some footsteps before—

_SLAP!_

"I won't let you bad-mouth him while he's not here right now," Elizaveth said, going back to the island chair, away from Gilbert who somehow managed to get on the floor on his knees.

"You've hated him since the first time I told you that I didn't share the same feelings that you had towards me.

"I don't think that that's fair to be judging him right off the bat, let alone hate him," Elizaveth said, noticing that Gilbert shook off being hit and put the baking sheet in the pre-heated oven.

"I know that when I usually do this, I want to talk to you. But I don't think that I can talk to you about something very personal between my friends and me.

"I hope that you don't feel brushed off— because you aren't!– I just want you to know that I value our friendship enough to tell you stuff when I know that you'll listen to whatever I have to say…but not this time.

"This time I have to think it through— a lot. And hopefully you won't be mad at me anymore when I _do _tell you all that I know…

"Who knows? Maybe I won't automatically have this hatred placed on your boyfriend anymore…," Gilbert said, looking up from his pose on the floor at Elizaveth who was silently crying from above him by now.

She slowly got up from the island's chairs, nodding her head, and left the kitchen.

Gilbert slowly got up from his stance from the tiled floor, turned off the oven, and started to walk off towards his own room.

'_I don't think that I'll be able to talk to Liz for a while now…great. It's always when I try to handle these situations maturely that everything ends up being blown up in front of _my_ face…_'

"Well, you can't blame me this time dad. I _tried_to tell her that it was going to hurt her. But nobody bothers to listen to me anymore…," Gilbert said, closing the door behind him.

He looks at his room, seeing his bedroom as the center piece, some drawers on the sides of the bed. A mirror placed on top of one of his bigger drawers off to the right side of his bed. And the marble tiled floor.

Not really much to look at.

He lies on top of his bed, with his hands on the back of his head, sighing the entire time.

Just then, he hears his phone vibrate.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he looks over to his phone on top of his big drawer, and gets up to see who would leave him a message.

The only people that he would expect to leave him a text would be the ones who are currently _not_talking to him.

Withholding a sigh, he looks to see what the message is and who it's from.

The message says:

_Hey, _

_If u wanna go out 2nit, _

_I heard tht there's this chick_

_Who works tht 1 nitclub _

_That Roddie an I lik 2 go 2_

_~ Liz_

Gilbert read it twice, just to make sure he understood what Liz was trying to say.

He quickly responded back with:

_I kno tht ur probly mad me rit now, _

_But listen to this:_

_Thanks 4 th heads up_

_Where's tht nitclub ?_

_~ The Awesomeness That Is Me_

A couple of seconds later he got the directions and made his way over to his bike, ready to flirt with said 'chick'.

~Present Time~

Gilbert groans.

Worst. Day. Ever.

"Well, she's not going to apologize unless I do it first so…here I go," Gilbert says, getting up and heading towards the front door.

'_Hopefully tomorrow won't be this chaotic than how it was today…,_' Gil thinks as he opens the door.

"I hope that Liz will forgive me by the time its morning…,"

He can always hope that Roderick won't be home as well…

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Noke: I'm sorry if you guys wanted a better explanation, but it wouldn't have gone well with what I'm planning on. So for the mean time, just sit back and enjoy, alright?<span>_**


	3. The Dreaded CD Player

**_Disclaimer: I do not own the songs mentioned here._**

**_On a side note:_****_ I know, I never thought that I would end up writing a chapter for Alfred either...XD_**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Three – Alfred<strong>_

'_Alright! Finally, it's my time to shine!_'

He thought as he was making his way towards Matthew's house.

At three in the afternoon.

Down Montclair street, if you were wondering.

To any other by-stander, it would look as if Alfred lived within this very neighborhood simply by the way he was sauntering towards a pale blue (or was it a powdery blue?) house.

Now, anyone who learns even the most basic form of etiquette, would simply knock on a door that doesn't belong to them, right?

Well etiquette—meet Alfred F. Jones.

Upon reaching the front door (instead of knocking _OR _ringing the doorbell) he went face first through the door.

"Hello~? Are we all decent in here?" Alfred asked, closing his eyes shut as he fumbles around the living room until he feels comfortable stepping a foot within the kitchen.

Last time he came over unannounced (which is practically every day -.-;) he happened to have seen Mattie in a *cough* *cough*_compromising _situation.

...

He caught them making out you sickos!

Almost caused him to punch the crap out of the person that was Mattie's somehow managed to bring home with him for said night of so and so week.

Is Mattie a player or what?

But only because that bastard looked _oh so smug _about getting laid by Mattie.

_Nobody_ said that he had to always _play _fair when it concerns Mattie, now did they?

"Al"

A pause.

"What do you want this time around?" A voice said drifting somewhere towards his left…or was it his right? He tried to pinpoint where said voice was at.

…

It didn't seem to be working.

"Do you at least have all of your clothes on?" Alfred said with a smirk plastered on his face.

He hears something making its way towards him, so he tenses up expecting the worst to happen.

Again, last time he came over unannounced (while making perverted jokes at Mattie), his "friend" got pissed and assuming that Alfred was Mattie's ex-boyfriend (which Alfred thought was _gross_) and tried to beat the shit out of Alfred.

Humph.

Much good _that _did to that guy.

He almost felt bad for how bloody he left the dude (thank you self-defense!).

He hears a sigh as fingers are felt against his hands (that are covering his eyes) and removing said hands from his eyes.

Alfred blinks as he sees Matthew frowning slightly, heaving a sigh while his eyes were closed shut.

Alfred frowns as he sees Matthew refusing to look at him straight in the eye.

Alfred's eyes narrow.

'_Something is definitely up...and Mattie doesn't seem to be willing enough to tell his older brother,_' Alfred thought as he starts to check if there are any hickies, cuts, or bruises throughout Matthew's body.

Even if Alfred doesn't want to know how or where he got those hickies from.

Satisfied that there are none of the above shown upon his brother's neck, he relaxes slightly.

"Do I pass your expectations Al?" Matthew asks, not noticing how Alfred slightly winces as he said that.

"You know how I act when I see you bring people in the house Mattie," Alfred stated softly, making Matthew flinch.

Not Alfred's.

Not Matthew's.

Just _the _house.

Matthew tries to stop a sigh making its way past his throat.

Really?

Do they really have to go over _that _conversation again?

"Al…,"

At this, Alfred looks up from the kitchen floor (really nice tiles), to look at Matthew.

Matthew opens his eyes (Alfred will never know since he gave up trying to figure it out whether they're blue or violet…), looks at Alfred in the eye, and glares straight at him.

"I'm really _not _in the mood to be having a repeat of this conversation. _Again_.

"I mean, I totally understand! 'The house cannot be claimed to the person currently inhabiting _UNLESS _they have managed to have paid the original amount that the owners paid when they bought said house.'

"As if I needed to be reminded of what I would do!

"Father mentioned that if I could be able to work my way through the punishment that Romano has managed to set up for me._ Plus_ all of the extra work that he claims you haven't managed to 'man up to' since you've first had this job before I got my job.

"Then and only then would I be able to own this house as my own," Matthew said, pulling out a chair to sit upon.

Alfred, caught completely off-guard, just stared at Matthew as he realized one of three things:

1). IF Matthew could sum up enough money, he can officially claim the house as his and do whatever the fracking hell he wants to do within its walls. No unexpected visits anymore…

2). Matthew received a punishment from _Romano_? *le gasp* (he was left completely in the dark as soon as he managed to have set foot within the club the night before XD)

3). Wait a second— he does a _bad job _as a waiter? Are you for real?

…

"What?" Alfred asked, looking over at Matthew who cracked his neck from side to side (a/n: which is what I do when I'm stressed out), completely oblivious to the mental break down happening before him.

"Look Al: if you have something to say, then say it already. Because if not, then I'll be making my way towards my bedroom."

As Matthew started to make his way out of the chair and into his room, he ignored a certain polar bear making his way towards the kitchen.

Alfred, ready to retaliate to what Matthew had said, stopped as he noticed that Kumajirou was heading head-first to his shin.

"How are you today Kumajirou?"

Kumajirou, who was already so close to the kitchen, paused and seeing who was calling he perked up in joy.

"Friend!"

Matthew turns around upon hearing Kumajirou shout.

He saw Kumajirou making his way towards Alfred, who was kneeling on the floor as he stared in amazement.

Alfred, after holding Kumajirou securely within his lap, turns to see if Matthew has managed to go towards his room.

Apparently not by the look that Matthew was giving him. What the hell did he do wrong?

"How is he able to call you his 'friend' when all I've managed to get out of him is a 'Who? Hungry. Who are you?' I don't see that as a fair turn-about considering that I'm technically the owner of Kumajirou."

Matthew crossed his arms over his chest as he saw that Alfred continued to pet Kumajirou behind the ears as the polar bear kept on nuzzling his nose into Alfred's jacket.

"Well…," Alfred pauses as Kumajirou somehow managed to tickle him near his ribs, and coughs as he tries to regain his composure.

"Did you ever think that it could be because you don't play with him as much as you originally did when you first got that job?"

Matthew stiffened as Alfred calmly said that.

"I hardly see as to how that applies to what is happening right now," Matthew commented as he huffed up in embarrassment.

"I never said that it wasn't irrelevant to your situation at hand, because it obviously is by the way that you keep on dismissing it."

Alfred smiled kindly.

Matthew scowls at him.

Alfred frowns.

Ever since Mattie came back from Venduccira ( totally bogus name, he thought), he seems to have a sort of bitterness that only comes out when he's really had all that to which he can withstand.

And that's a lot if you consider on how much Alfred frequents the house.

And the only way that the said bitterness would go away, would be if he played one of his favorite songs that the club normally plays on a regular basis.

'_Aha!_' Alfred thought.

Alfred slowly gets up, with Kumajirou in his arms, and walks over to Matthew's bedroom, ignoring the look Matthew gave him that screamed 'what the hell do you think you're doing going inside of my room?'

Alfred, smiling cheekily, walks around the drawer to his right and tries to find the radio that he knows Matthew has in the corner to his room.

How does Alfred know that?

Well, for starters, the whole room is painted in pale beige with the carpet a nice rustic brown tint. The drawers the color of bright oak and the bed frame black. The

pillows are white and the sheets are a nice pastel red.

So what does that have to do with the radio?

The radio is colored nice, bright, and automatically noticeable neon pink.

Yeah, Alfred is not shittin' about the color.

As for the story…it would be better if Matthew said that one on his own…

Alfred, after having spotted the abomination that is the radio, gently sat Kumajirou on top of the bed, sauntered his way to the radio, and connected the plug into the outlet to power it up.

"What are you doing with my radio Al?"

Matthew, who was leaning against the doorframe to his room, walked over to his bed as he saw Alfred fiddling with his radio.

At Alfred's 'yes!' he turned around and saw Alfred show Matthew a CD coming from the radio. Matthew's eyebrows furrowed in confusion automatically rose in surprise as he saw what was about to happen.

"You're not serious are you Al? What if the neighbors hear us again?" Matthew looked nervous now.

Alfred's smile did nothing to soothe Matthew's worries…

"You need to relax more Mattie."

Alfred's smile faded.

"It's mostly to help you with your bitterness, so it's not as if I'm doing this to be messing around with you on purpose."

Alfred statement managed to remove some of the anxiety that was placed within Matthew's eyes, but not completely before the music started to play.

The radio, with volume up to the max started to play:

"_I'm so addicted to  
>All the things you do<br>When you're going down on me  
>In between the sheets<br>Or the sound you make  
>With every breath you take<br>It's not like anything  
>When you're loving me<em>

* * *

><p>"You know…"<p>

Alfred looked over at Matthew as the two were sprawled out on the bed. Alfred lying on the bed horizontally and Matthew doing the same but curled up in a ball to Alfred's right.

After seeing that Matthew wasn't even going to bother opening his eyes, Alfred sighed and made a noise for Matthew to continue with whatever he was going to say.

"I really shouldn't still be acting this bitter after what had happened to me at that time…but, I can't seem to shake it off. It's like I'm traumatized or something Al, I might need professional help if it gets any worse…,"

"Mattie…you knew that it wasn't going to end well…and yet, you've managed to get the bad end of the stick…and your still hurting— that much is easy to tell by the way you don't spend quality time with Kumajirou anymore…"

Matthew flinched at Alfred's soft tone, and knew that it was true.

He just wished that it wasn't displayed where Alfred could easily see it…

"I know, I just wish…that I could take it all back, you know? I didn't think that it would have bothered me this much though…"

At that moment, they both noticed that the song stopped playing and since Alfred put the CD player on shuffle, there was a new song playing that they hardly heard in the club.

"I've been meaning to ask you Mattie…where did you get this CD from anyway? I mean, I thought that only Yao was allowed to have all of the songs played at the club within his possession in case anything was to happen…"

Matthew, who got out of his huddled form, looked over at Alfred in confusion.

"Yao always gives me a copy in case he forgets to bring one from his house to the club; which is why he is always asking me for a CD, if you didn't already notice."

Alfred nodded in agreement. He has seen this exchange happen; he just didn't know what they were exchanging exactly.

Soon, the music gave way for the singer to start filling the room with their melody. Although he was a bit off-tune, Matthew started to sing along with it.

Even though the singer was female, he was able to hit the notes head-on.

"_Nothing left for me to say  
>There is no more games to play<br>It's time for me to walk away  
>I am alright<em>

"_I feel like I want to hide  
>I knew the game that was my life<br>I'm turning to the rhythm to the night  
>I am alright<em>

"_The music is making me glowing  
>The only think that's keeps me awake is me knowing<br>There's nobody break me or bring me down  
>And no one here to hurt me or fool around<em>

"_I have no more time for you to hurt my feelings  
>None enough to prove I'm all bad I believe in<br>We are at the end of the stupid lies  
>I'm better off without you here by my side<em>

"_So now there is no longer you and I  
>You and I<br>You and I  
>You and I<br>You and I  
>You and I<br>You and I_

"_There is no longer you and I  
>You and I<br>You and I  
>You and I<br>You and I  
>You and I<br>You and I_

"_There is no longer you and I  
>You and I<em>

"_Don't care what other people say  
>I know you fool around all day<br>Now it doesn't hurt me anyway  
>I am alright<em>

"_And when the day turns into night  
>I'm in the club forgetting you and I<br>And when I think about how you treated me  
>You proved me right<em>

"_The music is making me glowing  
>The only think that's keeps me awake is me knowing<br>There's no one here break me or bring me down  
>And no one here to hurt me or fool around<em>

"_I have no more time for you to hurt my feelings  
>None enough to prove I'm all bad I believe in<br>We are at the end of the stupid lies  
>I'm better off without you here by my side<em>

"_So now there is no longer you and I  
>You and I<br>You and I  
>You and I<br>You and I  
>You and I<br>You and I_

"_There is no longer you and I  
>You and I<br>You and I  
>You and I<br>You and I  
>You and I<br>You and I_

"_There is no longer you and I  
>You and I<em>

"_So now there is no longer you and I  
>You and I<br>You and I  
>You and I<br>You and I  
>You and I<br>You and I_

"_There is no longer you and I  
>You and I<br>You and I  
>You and I<br>You and I  
>You and I<br>You and I_

"_There is no longer you and I  
>You and I<em>"

"You should think about getting a record deal Mattie."

Matthew, who had his eyes closed while singing, opened them to look at Alfred who hasn't moved from where he has been at, and staring at him the entire time.

Smirking at him the entire time.

Matthew scoffed at him.

"Do you honestly think that my singing is good enough for a record deal?"

"Are you really going to answer my question with a question of your own?" Alfred retaliated back quickly.

While Matthew tried to make a come-back statement, Alfred got up from the bed (while muttering a 'Whoa! Head rush…'), and went over to the radio.

He unplugged it and put it back to where he originally found it.

"Back to the emo corner you go," Alfred muttered as he practically shoved the thing in the corner.

"Your dumb, you know that right?"

Matthew managed to sit up correctly (with Kumajirou in his arms the entire time) on the bed as he spoke.

"I'm not dumb; I'm just not that smart enough."

"…Do you know how stupid that sounds right now?"

Alfred stayed quiet.

"I thought so…"

"You win this battle Mattie, but mark my words; I will avenge my pride that has been damaged."

"What the hell are you talking about Al?"

Alfred looks at Matthew as he snuggles Kumajirou closer to his body. He smiles.

"Nothing, as usual."

"You'd think that you would have learned to keep your mouth shut when it isn't necessary for you to talk at all…"

Alfred just shrugged his shoulders and laughed it off.

'_As long as you're able to let the past go bit by bit, I'll do all that I can to bring you back. Even if it makes me look like the bad guy who won't stop meddling in your life…_'

Alfred thought as he got a pillow off of the bed, getting ready for a pillow-fight with Matthew that he knew he was going to win.

'_As long as it takes Mattie…as long as it takes._'

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>The songs used:<span>_**  
><em><strong>Addicted by Saving Abel<strong>_  
><em><strong>You and I by Medina [Deadmau5 Mix]<strong>_


	4. The Plan

_**Disclaimer: I'm sorry that I don't own the songs or characters mentioned here. The songs belong to Vocaloids. **_

_**In case your wondering, this is continuing from Ch. 2 with Gilbert.**_

_**A/N: Thought that I should make this chapter longer, considering that I haven't updated in a while...**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Four - Elizaveth<strong>_

"I cannot believe that he managed to pull that one on me! _Me_, of all people who would understand him the most…Considering how much we've been through together and all…"

"I know Eli, I know. Give them the chance, and guys can be the shitiest pieces of crap that you can hardly imagine putting up with!"

Elizaveth managed to get a couple of more sniffs out, before she tried to control her anger. She holds herself still as she begins to wonder how the hell they ended up within her house in the first place.

Specifically, her living room…

Feeling Elizaveth become still beneath her hand, Nataliya starts to rub soothing circles on her back much more furiously.

"Is there something else that's bothering you baby cakes*****?"

Elizaveth shakes her head from side to side.

"Nataliya, how the hell did we end up being inside of my house?"

Nataliya stills her hand on Elizaveth's back.

Elizaveth stares.

Eventually, Nataliya sighs after a while.

"Don't blame this on me Eli. _I _thought that it was just going to be you, Feliks, that one Norwegian guy, and me hanging around your kitchen counter-top while eating

my famous lamb stew and talking about each other's problems…"

Nataliya and Elizaveth both sigh.

Obviously, that's not the case right now. And how the fuck did Heracles, of all people, end up on Elizaveth's couch?

Hm…he _does _make a nice picture of luscious sensuality, no?

…

Moving on…

"…And the last time we went over to _my _house, all of you freaked out that I was plotting on getting married to Big Brother next month in Vancouver with you as my maid of honor; Roderich as Ivan's best man since I would have already killed Alfred; and Feliks as the flower girl…"

"I would like be like one mother fucking hot flower girl…"

Ignoring Feliks, Nataliya kept on adding people into an imaginary wedding (that _no one _was going to attend, let alone be invited to…), in a detached voice that made everyone in the room conscious of her presence.

Even Heracles managed to wake up from his mid-afternoon nap, to look up at her since he was lying down on the couch with his arms behind his head.

Elizaveth _still _thinks that he was born to be a model for clothes instead of working in a restaurant…

She shakes her head as she realizes that no one was going to stop Nataliya talking unless she did it herself. She looks over at Nataliya, and sees that her right eye was twitching in a funny way.

Elizaveth lets out a quick snicker that soon has everyone laughing at the random action in surprise.

After a while, when everyone has managed to calm down (except for a babbling Feliks), Elizaveth turned to look at Nataliya (who was at her right), then at Feliks (who was at her left).

"You're not seriously planning on an all expense wedding just for the two of you, right Aliya?"

As Nataliya pondered this for a moment, Elizaveth grew more fidgety with each passing second.

Nataliya, who was sharing a staring contest with Heracles and Toris (who flinched, the pussy), she looked at Elizaveth in confusion.

Until she realized what Elizaveth had recently said to her, that is.

Just when Elizaveth assumed that Nataliya was serious on her decision (and an advanced warning on Elizaveth's part), Nataliya started to laugh.

"Are you shitting me?"

At this comment, everyone cringes, expecting a threat that Nataliya had stored for these occasions.

But she didn't leave a threat.

"Everybody _knows _that Ivan is 200% gay for Alfred. He wouldn't even _dare_attempt to turn straight. Not after what I did to convince him, that is…"

Toris and Feliks shuddered as Nataliya didn't comment _or _even finish that sentence that was left hanging in the air.

Elizaveth just sighs as she sits more comfortably on the 5-seated couch.

_Leather_ couch with cushions, mind you…

"Okay, let's really get down to business…"

Everyone looks at Nataliya as she stands up in front of everybody. Shaking off the crumbs of food on her work clothes, she clears her throat.

"As you all know, Eli seems to be having some family problems—"

"More like family _member _if you like ask me," mutters Feliks while Toris is telling him to keep his voice down.

"Why the hell should I like shut the fuck up? That's like taking away my like freedom of speech or some shit like that," screeched Feliks.

Before Feliks could make more of a fool out of himself, Elizaveth covered his mouth to prevent him from making Nataliya pissed off enough to de-man him and make everyone scream for like fucking bloody murder while Toris has to drag Feliks' body to the nearest hospital within a 10-mile radius.

And she can't have a literally bloody home when Roderich comes home, right?

So urging Nataliya that she can move on her little summary and a glare from Nataliya thrown Feliks' way, Nataliya tries to remember where exactly she left off.

"Like I mentioned before, Eli recently got into some family problems. Well, he is _somewhat _considered family, at least to Eli. Do you want me to go in detail, or should I leave that to you baby cakes?"

As Nataliya turned her head to the side, everyone looked at Elizaveth (who _still_had her hand over Feliks' mouth), while she contemplated her options.

"I'll…tell them instead. Thanks Aliya."

Nataliya nods as she sits down in between Heracles and Feliks. Elizaveth goes to the front (after making sure that Feliks wasn't going to ignorantly comment on something again) and takes a deep breath.

"Okay, so it started with Gilbert coming home…"

And so, Elizaveth started explaining what had happened on that day (even though it was just yesterday).

"So then, what do I do? I get fucking pissed! I let him know that and you know what he does? He mentions the sister."

At Elizaveth's pause, Feliks and Heracles both 'Oooh…" giving the effective noise that Elizaveth was looking for.

Dramatic much, neh?

"So what do I do? I tell him that he has no right what-so-ever to pull that one on me. You know what he does? He mentions Roderich."

Feliks, who was trying to soothe Toris to 'like calm the like fuck down', automatically turned towards Elizaveth.

"Oh hell nah! Like no he didn't!" And he snapped his fingers in a "z" as he said that.

Rolling her eyes, Elizaveth continues. "Anyways, to make things short: I got up, bitch-slapped him and walked out of the room. I sent him a text message saying about how he could hook-up with this one 'chick' who works at that one club that Roddie and I like to go to…And…we haven't talked much since then."

Toris, after whispering something to Feliks, looks at Elizaveth.

"Don't you think that you should tell him that he's being unreasonable for saying all of that stuff towards you?"

A glare from Elizaveth was thrown Toris' way, causing him to stutter.

"I-I mean, you d-don't have t-to seem like y-you're m-mad at h-him. You c-could con-convince him to a-apol-apologize to you m-much sooner. Th-That's just m-my opinion th-though!"

He squeaked at the end of the last sentence as he squeezed himself behind Feliks. "You are like such a like fucking cry baby…" But Feliks still rubbed his back in sympathy.

"…I agree with Toris. I don't think that Elizaveth should consider doing that. I mean, it might make their friendship even worse."

A glare was thrown at Heracles.

"Just saying…"

He scoots closer to Feliks and Toris, after receiving another heart-felt glare from Nataliya.

"Since everyone else is obviously speaking out of turn—" Feliks and Toris both subconsciously flinch, "—what do you honestly think, now that you've heard other people's opinions Eli?"

Before Elizaveth could even formulate a proper thought at that exact moment, everyone became startled as they see Roderich come through the door with a present in his hands.

He quickly puts the present behind his back before anyone (*cough* *cough* Feliks and Nataliya) could figure out what said present was.

"Liz! I thought that you said you wouldn't be coming home from work for another hour or so…"

At everyone's 'Aww~!' (Feliks and Toris), Roderich blushes a bit and starts inching towards they shared bedroom bit by bit. "I'll just come out as soon as I'm done changing!"

Elizaveth had to contain a giggle from slipping out.

Honestly, not only did he actually do something cute _but _he did it in front of her _and _her bff's.

"_Damn_. If I like wasn't so into Toris so fucking much, I would like go after your like fucking adorable man over there…

"Like I fucking shit you not, I would like so totally chase after him. But I'm like so fucking horny all the like fucking time for like my babe Toris who like is right fucking here."

"Err…thank you for your honest opinion Feliks…"

Elizaveth offers Feliks a strained smile, while Nataliya re-glares at him.

"Is it just me…or does your boyfriend seems kind of nervous whenever we show up around him?"

Elizaveth turns to Heracles in confusion.

"No…he just doesn't know how to properly act like himself whenever he sees how relaxed all of you guys can be."

Heracles nods, pretending as if he knew that that was the answer all along.

Or did he really know throughout all of this time? O.o

"Anyways, I think that Toris and Heracles are both right on this Eli..."

Elizaveth, who was still staring at Heracles in confusion, turned to look at Nataliya who was peacefully brushing Elizaveth's hair.

'_Where did she get a brush from?_' Elizaveth thought, before she remembered what Nataliya told her.

"Hm? Oh…well…he would be even more of an ass than usual if I did confront him…"

Nataliya hummed in agreement to Elizaveth's comment.

Besides, she was going to see that line of reasoning eventually…

"Maybe…and I'm saying _maybe _Nataliya…maybe if I try out this method, he'll see the error of his ways and he'll apologize much faster. Then I won't have to think about him making another retarded mistake again…for a while at least."

"That sounds even more badass than to how we originally said so…"

Heracles commented airily as he managed to lay himself back onto the couch, preparing himself to take another long siesta.

"Kyaa! Do you honestly think that this will work Eli?"

"It has to. If not, then I'll just go back to ignoring him…"

Feliks and Toris were whispering back and forth by the time both girls decided that the 'plan' was going to work after all.

"Okay…so now that the issue has been dealt with, do you guys want to leave now or stay for a bit longer?"

While Nataliya considered with what to respond with, Toris answered with a question.

"When's Gilbert coming home?"

Nataliya crosses her arms in defiance.

"_Duh_, when do you think he comes home Toris? He comes in ten minutes!"

Elizaveth widened her eyes in surprise.

So did everyone else.

"I think that you guys should go home right now before Gilbert suspects anything!"

At Elizaveth's panicked voice, Feliks and Toris automatically bolted for the front door.

"Next time…"

"I'll call you guys and you can decide from there, alright Nataliya?"

While Nataliya agreed, she tried to haul a sleeping Heracles out the door.

"How the hell can he _still_ manage to fall asleep when he's supposed to wake up and move his ass out of here?"

Elizaveth quickly closed the door on Nataliya's screeching (and hopeful attempts) to wake Heracles up.

Elizaveth sighed.

"H-Have all of your friends left?"

Elizaveth smiled.

"Yes Roderich, they're all gone…"

At Elizaveth's response, Roderich came bursting out towards the living room.

"Are you _still _that self-conscious of my friends?"

Roderich froze in place.

"I've told you before. I feel like if I really act like myself, then they will automatically judge me or call me on the spot claiming: 'How the hell did Elizaveth end up with such a stick in the mud?'…I don't want to put that type of pressure on you…"

Elizaveth had to bite the inside of her cheek to prevent her from saying something stupid and have Roderich running away in embarrassment.

She bit harder.

"…you do realize that my friends don't care if you act like the plainest person ever. If they see how happy I am with you, then they'll be okay with you…why do you push yourself around so much? Did something happen at work that's gotten you into this foul mood?"

Roderich stood looking at Elizaveth (who was still sitting in the middle of the couch), and knelt in front of her, holding her hands within his grasp.

"No, nothing happened at work that made my 'mood' go sour Liz. My mind was just preoccupied about what you told me concerning you and Gilbert, that's all."

As Elizaveth pondered Roderich's statement, Gilbert decided to come through the door at exactly that moment.

Ruining whatever moment that Roderich and Elizaveth have had in a while, that is.

"I'll just give you your present later Liz, alright?"

With that, Roderich left Elizaveth and Gilbert by themselves.

In the living room.

Alone.

With only themselves to talk to.

'_Oh Roddie, you'll stop at no lengths just to make me happy…_'

Gilbert, upon realizing that he might have ruined an important moment between the two (maybe a marriage proposal?), tried to think of what to say—but came up short.

He sighs.

'_Might as well get this over with…_'

"Gil—"

"Look Liz, I had no right to be doing that to you. I was just so fucking pissed off that François and Antonio had an affair with one another, broke up, and bothered to just _recently _tell me!

"I mean fuck, I know that there are some affairs that are better kept secret, but that was stupid on their part! Who the hell does that?"

Gilbert fell silent.

"I just wish that they would've confided in me to have at least mentioned the part of them _being _together…"

Elizaveth, shocked that Gilbert not _only_mentioned that he was sorry but also told her what exactly was bothering him, could only stare in amazement as he was pacing the length of the room and not look at her.

Not even once.

"I mean, doesn't it look like I wasn't a good friend to at least know something instead of being left in the dark from day one?"

"Oh Gilbert…"

Before Gilbert could register anything, he was suddenly being held within Elizaveth's arms. The sudden warmth coming from around his mid-section made him suddenly blush in embarrassment.

"H-Hey! What are you doing that for? It's not as if though one of my relatives died…"

Even though he muttered the last sentence in jest, Elizaveth tightened her arms even more.

"I can understand why you were wound up yesterday…I just wish that you wouldn't have said those things to me. _That_was uncalled for. That's what I was really mad at you about."

Gilbert wound his arm around Elizaveth's head, patted gently, and sighed.

"I know. I realize that I had overstepped with those comments. Can you forgive me?"

Elizaveth let's go of Gilbert and ponders.

"Hm…"

"Please?"

"…"

"Liz?"

"…"

"I promise that I won't use that line of commenting towards you! I know that I don't deserve your friendship, can you find it within yourself to ever forgive me?"

"…"

"Please Elizaveth, I'm begging you!"

"…pfft!"

While Gilbert had been on his knees begging 'Please!' Elizaveth had to keep her laughter from erupting from her mouth.

But after hearing her name being said with such sincerity…

She cracked.

"Hey, what's so funny? Here, the Awesome me, has been begging for your forgiveness, and instead of being swept away with emotion you laugh at me!"

More laughing.

"You don't know how cute you can be, can you Gilbert?"

He huffed.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It looks like you two are finally getting along."

Elizaveth and Gilbert both look at Roderich in a kitchen apron, busting out of the kitchen with his hands being wiped down with a rag.

A _frilly _kitchen apron.

Elizaveth had to double her effort to not laugh at Roderich's cute display.

But Gilbert beat her to it.

"W-What the hell is _that_?"

He laughs.

Elizaveth joins in.

"I-I'm s-so sorry Roddie-kun! It's just that—I agree with Gilbert on this one."

Gilbert tries to hold his sides from hurting so much, while Elizaveth starts to lean on Gilbert to prevent from her falling flat on her face.

It wasn't working very much.

"I couldn't find a normal apron without it saying 'Kiss This Fucking Awesome Cook' or 'This Bitch is Too Hot to Handle'.

"So don't blame _me _for trying to find a somewhat normal apron."

Roderich huffed.

At this, Elizaveth and Gilbert ended up laughing even more.

"I can see how that was funny…"

Roderich laughs along with the two of them.

"Oh, that's right!"

At Roderich's comment, both Elizaveth and Gilbert look at him in confusion.

"Do you want me to give you your present now or later Liz?"

At this, Gilbert looks at Elizaveth.

"It's already your guy's anniversary? Fuck, time really does fucking fly by fast."

Elizaveth playfully punched him.

"Right now is a good time as any, I suppose!"

Roderich nodded and started to head towards the bedroom.

"So about Roderich—"

"Gilbert, I thought we already talked about this."

Elizaveth warned Gilbert, holding a fist in front of his face.

Gilbert shakes his head.

"I wasn't going to disrespect him—I promise."

Elizaveth holds her fist down slowly.

Gilbert rubs the back of his head as he stares at the floor.

He sighs.

"I know that you think that I'm out to ruin your relationship with Roderich. It's actually the opposite…

"Ever since you told me that you had feelings for Roderich instead of for me, well, I was heartbroken. I didn't want to see you. I wanted to run away and commit suicide.

"All because you rejected me. I thought that I was being smart in doing that. 'Toni told me that it was pointless to have been that infatuated with you, since you didn't even show interest in the first place.

"So I eventually came to the conclusion that this guy must be a shady character if you became so infatuated that quickly. Instead of moping about a false relationship that would never have happened, I decided to look after you if Roderich decided to two-time you.

"I eventually found out that he was a great match for you, so I became more relaxed knowing that he only wanted _you _instead of any material possessions that any other man would want if they couldn't see past the beauty…

"Around that time, I noticed that you were wondering if I was starting to get over you. I didn't want you to become infuriated with the idea that I was keeping an eye on your Roderich, so I decided to play 'the arrogant bastard you can't stand on a daily basis' and see if it would shake you off my tail…

"It actually worked better than to what I assumed would have happened, so I kept on doing it. I know that it wasn't fair on your part, but answer me this: Would you have had been content with knowing that I was dating a great girl or a skank that's only after my money?

"Okay, I admit that it's not possible that a scenario like that could happen, but you understand with what I'm trying to say, right? I did it out of protection for you."

Gilbert looks at Elizaveth to see her shocked expression.

He lets out a huge sigh.

"I'm getting really fucking tired of deceiving you, so I wanted to tell you about it sooner. But Fran and 'Toni fucked it up by pulling their relationship out of their asses like that."

He lets out a big gush of air from his lungs.

He notices that he's near his bedroom, a good ten feet away from Elizaveth.

He turns to look at her.

He gives her a sad smile.

"I'll understand if you don't want to even _see _me. I know that this isn't the first time that some shit goes down and I get the bad end of the stick."

He cracks his head from side to side. He starts walking towards the mini arch way.

He pauses.

"I'm sorry Elizaveth. I'll move my stuff out of the house now…"

Before he could move two feet, he was hauled to the ground.

Panicking and assuming the worst, Gilbert starts to struggle.

He starts to head towards his room to prevent Roderich from slitting his throat.

But it isn't Roderich that's keeping him to the ground.

It's Elizaveth.

She starts to sock him in the stomach and kicking his shins.

All the while crying and saying one sentence repeatedly:

"Why do that for me?"

Gilbert gladly took each kick and sock.

A couple of rounds later, Elizaveth suddenly stops.

This catches Gilbert's attention.

He perks his hearing when Elizaveth starts whispering.

"Why are you such a kind person? Can't you see that I can't possible throw out one of my own family away?"

She grits her teeth.

"Can't you understand that I consider you an older brother that I've never had? That my love for you goes way past that of a lover?"

She starts to cry again.

"And to know that the jackass act that you've been pulling on Roderich was for my safety. I can't hate you anymore than I can be thankful that someone is looking out for me besides Roderich."

She punches Gilbert in the stomach.

"I can't believe that you would go to the extent just for me to be happy."

"…You deserve to be happy after all of that stuff…"

Gilbert quietly mentions, cautious of Elizaveth throwing another punch his way.

Instead of Elizaveth punching him again, she falls on top of him.

He grunts as he tries to get the both of them up towards the couch.

When he has managed to have gotten her on the couch, he wonders if he should leave the house after all, but a hand stops him.

"Don't leave Gil…I would miss you if you did…"

Elizaveth says as she sits up in the couch.

"Humph! As if I would leave after you told me that…"

He mutters, which makes Elizaveth smile.

She pats the space next to her on the couch, and Gilbert moves to sit next to her.

"So now that I've mentioned that…"

Elizaveth lightly punches his arm.

"I think that I should forgive and that you should forget all of that nasty business. Don't you agree?"

"…only if you say so Liz…"

Gilbert mutters while Elizaveth laughs contently.

"I think that you should close your eyes Liz…"

Elizaveth looked at Gilbert in confusion before she noticed that Roderich had returned with the present hidden behind his back.

Roderich pouted at Gilbert.

"I was going to tell her that Gilbert…"

Gilbert snorted.

"As if you would have warned her in time…"

Elizaveth winced as she awaited Roderich's answer.

Roderich grinned.

"Oh, and your awesomeness knows no bounds?"

At this comment, Elizaveth and Gilbert both just looked at Roderich in surprise.

Roderich laughs.

"I had a feeling you were protecting her _more so _than wondering what my background was…That and I just happened to walk in the middle of your confession."

At this, Gilbert blushed and Elizaveth looked lost.

But eventually, all three laughed in relief.

"Alright then, Elizaveth close your eyes and hold out your hands."

Elizaveth did what Roderich instructed her to do.

"I bet you that he bought you a dildo…!"

Gilbert commented loudly in amusement.

Roderich blushed in embarrassment, while Elizaveth blindly punched Gilbert at the stomach.

Elizaveth felt something small, cool, and light within her hands.

"Can you tell me what it is Gilbert?"

Gilbert laughed.

"And miss the look on your face when you see it? Hell nah!"

"I agree with Gilbert on this one Liz."

Both Roderich and Gilbert laughed.

"Why don't you open your eyes instead of asking 50 questions?"

Gilbert mentions, nudging Elizaveth with his elbow into her ribs.

She nudges him back and does as told.

"Oh Roderich…!"

With her eyes wide, in her hands is a hand crafted music box.

She starts to cry in happiness, getting up and hugging Roderich.

"Did you make this?"

Elizaveth shakes her head before Roderich could answer.

"He makes hand crafted music boxes?"

Elizaveth had to stop herself from slapping her hand to her forehead.

She turns to look at Gilbert.

"He doesn't make music boxes…"

"…I deliver them."

Roderich finished Elizaveth's sentence.

"Exactly."

Elizaveth nodded in agreement.

"Does it work?"

Gilbert asked curiously.

Elizaveth looks at Roderich.

He nods his head.

"Why not?"

Elizaveth says all excited.

She looks at the box from all sides, until Gilbert points at one side especially.

"Is it supposed to have a weird knobby thing sticking out?"

When Elizaveth saw what Gilbert was talking about, she squealed.

Gilbert rubbed his ear.

"I'm starting to think that this wasn't such a good idea…"

Elizaveth stuck her tongue out at Gilbert's comment.

She turned the knob four times before it started to play the song.

All that you could hear throughout the house was the melody that the music box was emitting.

When the song finished, both Gilbert and Roderich turned to look at Elizaveth.

She was silently crying.

"It reminds me so much of what happened with that one guy I was with…I don't know why though…"

Roderich quickly reaches over to get the box from Elizaveth.

He looks to see the bottom of the box and slaps himself on the forehead.

"They gave me the wrong one…"

He gets up really quickly.

"I'll be right back!"

Roderich leaves the two on the floor of the living room.

Gilbert puts his arm around Elizaveth's shoulders in comfort.

She shakes her head.

"I don't know how that even happened Gilbert…it just came out of nowhere…"

She wipes her eyes.

"It's okay Liz. He was probably given the wrong one. You know how that kind of thing happens…"

She sniffs and nods her head.

Roderich comes back as quickly as he left.

In his hands, he has another music box.

Except that the color of the box is different.

The one before was a nice beige color.

This one is painted black with white swirls on the top and sides.

"Is that one as sad as the one before?"

Roderich looks at the bottom of the box.

"I think that you'll cry for a different reason."

He smiles at her.

She does the same back.

Gilbert pretends to be throwing up.

They all laugh at his display.

Roderich gives Elizaveth the box.

She winds it up once more.

When the music starts, Elizaveth holds it much more securely within her hands.

"It sounds so pretty…"

She breathed out the response.

"That sounds like the era where you could imagine an awesome ball with dancers wearing outfits that suit that image…"

Gilbert commented lightly.

Roderich and Elizaveth both nodded in agreement.

When Elizaveth thought the music box ended, she stroked the box.

Before she could say anything, the music box started again.

Although it started to play at a higher pace.

When it finally ended, Elizaveth laughed.

"Well, this one certainly makes up for the first one."

"I like the way how it sounds epically awesome!"

Roderich smiles at Elizaveth.

"Then you like your gift?"

"If I say it's awesome, doesn't it already count?"

Elizaveth laughs.

"Yes, I love it! How can I not like it?"

Roderich smiles again.

"I'm glad that you enjoy it."

'_I wonder if I should leave the two of them alone…_'

Before Gilbert could dwell with the idea, Elizaveth grabs his sleeve.

"I just remembered something!"

Both Gilbert and Roderich look at Elizaveth in confusion.

"Did you ever find out about that one girl I told you about?"

At this, Gilbert goes still.

"…About that…"

Elizaveth gives him a look.

"Don't tell me that you botched it again!"

Gilbert laughs nervously.

"It's not that I _botched _it…"

Elizaveth shakes her head.

"Don't tell me that you forgot to look for her…"

"It's not that! I went to the club like you told me too…"

"Then how come I haven't heard about this girl until I mentioned it right now?"

"Some slut wanted to get laid. She was fucking ugly! She wouldn't let me even move within two feet _away _from her without her knowing where I was going! That

was fucking horrible!"

Elizaveth shook her head while laughing.

"Look at it this way: Now you know if they're looking for fun or _fun_."

At this, Roderich laughed along with Elizaveth.

Gilbert blushes at his own stupidity.

"You don't know how she was—so don't go saying stuff like that!"

He huffed.

Elizaveth laughed even more.

Roderich coughed.

"Maybe we should tag along to make sure that it doesn't happen again…is that alright with you Gilbert?"

Gilbert blinks while Elizaveth is still laughing.

"That's not a bad idea…but you guys have to be from a distance and only give me texts to tell me when to go for it and when to run."

Elizaveth tilts her head to the side.

Then she smiles.

"You have to promise to show her to us before you leave the club if and only _if _you find her the night we go to À Deux."

Gilbert and Roderich looked at her.

"_That's_ the name of the club?"

"We're going to _that _club again?"

Elizaveth nods her head to both their questions.

Roderich looks at Gilbert.

"You didn't know the name of the club?"

Gilbert looks at Roderich in confusion.

"You don't _like _to go to that club?"

Elizaveth laughs.

'_I hope that the girl is able to catch Gil's attention…we'll just have to wait and see, no?_'

* * *

><p><strong>*<strong>_**I like to call my little sister that, so that's why I mentioned it here.  
><strong>__**Is it me, or could the whole 'plotting revenge against Gilbert' have had been avoided in the first place?**_

_**The first music box song - Just Be Friends by Luka Megurine  
><strong>__**The second music box song - Canterella by Kaito Shion**_


	5. One of Those Days

_**The italics at the beginning are a flashback.  
><strong>_

_**Continuing from Ch. 1 and Ch. 2**_

_**About when Ch. 2 took place, let's just say it was the same day that Matthew spent with Romano, no?**_

_**Chapter Five – (Lovino) Romano**_

_Matthew looked at Romano in fright._ _"D-Do I really have a choice?"_

_Romano looked back at him. _

"_What time do you usually wake up?"_

_Matthew blinked. _

"…_Um…is there a specific time that I have to meet you by?"_

_Romano scoffed. "Just fucking tell me if you're going to have your ass up or not by eleven."_

_Matthew stared._

"_Do you normally wake up by that time?"_

_Romano thought about it. "…I normally wake up around twelve, but that's if I had a rough night—We aren't fucking talking about me you bastard! Just _

_answer the fucking question."_

_Matthew had to stifle a smile._

"_I normally wake up at 11 on week days; 12 on weekends."_

_Romano had his arms crossed over his chest as he accepted Matthew's answer._

"_Since tomorrow's a Tuesday…how about you meet me at the café by Excelsior and Cheshire? We could talk about what to do for you there."_

_Matthew nodded as he got ready to leave the office._

"_Matthew."_

_Matthew turned around and saw that Romano rounded the table and stood right in front of him._

"…_Romano?"_

_Romano rubbed the back of his head._

"…_You can bring whoever you want tomorrow, you know. Just don't bring François over. I can't stand _his taste in clothes _for you..."_

_At this, Matthew nodded enthusiastically. "…I'll send you a text when I get there then…?"_

_Romano nodded. "I don't accept calls from anyone besides Feliciano—but that's because he insists on calling…"_

_Matthew laughed. "Al's a texter 'til the end, so I understand how that is…"_

_Romano barked with laughter. "I wouldn't put it past him. As for tomorrow, it's going to be at noon. Is that okay with you?"_

_Matthew shrugged. "I'm not holding all the cards here, now am I?"_

_Romano laughed. "You don't even know the half of it Matthew…"_

* * *

><p><strong>BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!<strong>

Matthew slowly opens his eyes as he stares at his alarm clock in irritation.

It's a small silver colored clock placed on top of one of his drawers that's right under the window towards his right.

'_All that I ask for is a couple more hours of sleep…Why am I waking up so early for?_'

He tries to remember as he glances over the clock.

It reads 10:45 a.m.

His eyes widen.

'_I'm supposed to meet Romano today!_'

He gets out of bed, but not before he hears some shuffling from the bottom of the bed. Curiosity getting the better of him, he sees a lump working its way up the bed.

Before he could figure out what it was, Kumajirou pops out. Releasing a very un-manly shriek, Matthew laughs as he picks up Kumajirou.

But Kumajirou wouldn't let Matthew get him that easily. He wiggled and squirmed, but Matthew wouldn't loosen his hold on Kumajirou.

"What has gotten into you Kumajirou? Do you want me to feed you already?"

At this, Kumajirou perks up.

"Hungry!"

Matthew laughs.

"Alright then, I'll get you something to eat; just let me get changed first, okay?"

Kumajirou voiced his approval.

"Yay!"

Matthew decided to wear a red V-neck, a white sweater with the sleeves cut off, and a pair of blue denim jeans.

Might as well dress up a bit since he's meeting Romano later on, _non?_

…

Obviously, his father has had some influence concerning clothes.

He goes over to the kitchen, looking for something that both can enjoy. Did he forget to mention that Kumajirou likes to eat whatever Matthew makes?

Well, he does.

A lot, you know.

Except for pancakes, that is.

He shoves the plate away from him at first glance.

Matthew, ignoring that flashback, decides to make pancakes for himself and an omelet for Kumajirou.

At least that will keep Kumajirou from diving head-first into the batter, unlike last time…

Moving on...

While he was making Kumajirou's breakfast first (since he complains until fed), Matthew thought about who to bring with him to the café.

'_Romano said not to bring Father since he's freaked out by him, and I can't bring Alfred since he'll be all over his case. Alfred would be doing the same thing, so that's already a lost battle…I think that I should just go by myself…_'

Matthew sighs as he puts the omelet on a plate for Kumajirou to eat off of, since he's refused the dog bowl for some strange reason and soon got to work on making himself some pancakes.

Maple, how he loves making pancakes.

The way the butter sizzles on the frying pan while he puts the batter on…the way the batter tries to coat the pan slowly but seductively, as if it's tempting the pan to

run away…

The way the pan hugs the half-cooked pancake as if telling it that it can't live without the pancake still being there…the pan mourning as it realizes that the pancake is almost done getting what it wants from the pan…the pan's anger shown when the pancake runs away with its lover the spatula when Matthew puts the butter in the pan again…

Matthew sighs.

Sometimes life is like that. But the pan has to move on, or else it will be stuck with the same grudge as before…

Matthew frowns.

Is this a lesson for the pan or for Matthew?

He doesn't even know right now…

As he finishes making pancakes for himself, he hears a ringtone sounding off.

"_tooi kioku ... yobi sama suyouni  
>nakushita, kiminokakera atsume<br>nando mo kurikaesu nami noyouni  
>atashi no mune no doa tataku ...<em> "

Wondering who was leaving him a text message, Matthew sees that the sender is Romano.

'_Who the hell messed with my ringtones for people—Fucking Al, always messing around with my shit…but it _does_ sort of match Romano's character…best not mention to Romano…_'

The text says:

_Matthew, I'm already here th café_

_Where r u? :[_

_I thght tht u were going 2 txt meh_

_Bstrd, least tell meh if u arnt going 2 shw up_

- _Deh Mafia Leader_

_Srry. -.-;_

_Brly woke up_

_I'll b there in a few._

_Need 2 feed my pet_

- _Maple FTW_

_Kk._

_Just don't b l8_

_Feli's getting anxious_

- _Deh Mafia Leader_

_U brght Feliciano? O.o_

- _Maple FTW_

_Yea._

_So?_

- _Deh Mafia Leader_

_Nvm…-.-;_

_I'll b there in a few mins…_

- _Maple FTW_

Matthew sighs.

Now who was he going to take with him to see Romano?

"Who are you?"

Matthew looks to see Kumajirou sniffing Matthew's phone in curiosity.

Or maybe he wondered where the warmth was coming from.

"Kumajirou…"

At this, the polar bear looks up at Matthew. Showing that he was listening to Matthew.

"How would you feel if you went with me to that one café where you eat that one sandwich that you like so much?"

Matthew was pleading at Kumajirou with hopeful eyes, hoping that Kumajirou would say yes.

"…yay…?"

Kumajirou was confused.

He wasn't the only one.

* * *

><p>"Ve~! You made it Matthew!"<p>

Matthew looks up to see Feliciano waving (flailing) his hands in the air.

"Shut up Feli! You're making people look at us all funny!"

Matthew sees Romano karate-chopping Feliciano on the head. At this, Feliciano calms down and starts to get up to bring Matthew to their table faster.

"Ve~! How are you today Matthew? Did you sleep well? I'm sure you did since you were able to meet us on such a short notice—but Romano wanted to blame it on me about getting anxious—I mean, I am it's just that I wasn't as anxious as the nerves that Romano was showing. He was saying 'What if he doesn't show up? What if he thinks that I wasn't firm enough? Would you stop seeming so peaceful Feli because I'm going to punch you if you tell Matthew that—"

Romano bumps Feliciano from saying even more ridiculous shenanigans than he should in front of Matthew.

Matthew chuckles.

Romano coughs.

"G-Glad to see that you showed up—N-Not that I was worried or anything like that…"

Romano mutters while Feliciano pulls a laughing Matthew to the far right side of the café tables, where they could be out of sight for the conversation that was going to take place.

Romano looks from side to side after they all sat down on the chairs.

"Before we begin—"

"Ve~! Did you already eat Matthew?"

"Why do you always interrupt me whenever I'm about to ask someone something important?"

"Ve~ what are you talking about? I thought that it would have been rude to simply jump in with the business before you ask pleasantries towards Matthew here…"

"…I was _going to_, but you asked before I did anything!"

Matthew had to hold a chuckle back, but he noticed that Kumajirou was squirming within his grasp.

'_Maybe he wants to smell Feliciano and Romano at the same time?_'

Matthew debates on whether or not he should mention to the Vargas brothers that he brought his pet to introduce them with.

But before he could officially decide on what to do, Kumajirou beat him to the punch.

All Matthew could do was stare as Kumajirou sprung from his arms and started to walk on the table towards Feliciano.

Interrupting whatever argument the brothers got into the beginning of the conversation, that is.

"Whoa~! Ve~ who is this? Oh~! You're so cute! What's your name? Where did _you _come from? Matthew—"

Romano let out an unmanly squeal as Kumajirou, who was done smelling Feliciano, was making his way towards Romano.

"Kumajirou!"

Matthew gets up from his seat and makes his way towards to Romano at the same moment that Kumajirou was shuffling his way towards Romano as well.

Before Kumajirou could so much as even touch Romano's hand (at this, Romano shrieked), Matthew scoops Kumajirou up flawlessly.

"Shame on you! What have I told you about making people skittish?"

Matthew was scolding Kumajirou while Feliciano was trying to calm down an over-reacting Romano.

"I-Is that _fur ball _your pet Matthew?"

Matthew, not through with scolding a pouting Kumajirou, looks over his shoulder to see a fuming Romano being held back by a pleading Feliciano.

"Yes, he's my pet. He's also a polar bear that goes by the name of Kumajirou."

Feliciano releases his hold on Romano upon hearing Kumajirou's name.

"Ve~? His name's Kumajirou? It's a boy? I thought that it was a girl! Come over to Papa Feli Kumajirou~"

Feliciano was trying to coax Kumajirou while Matthew was explaining how Kumajirou ended up coming with him to Romano.

Which wasn't looking good at the moment.

If the expression on Romano's face is anything to go by, that is.

Matthew sighs.

"Come on Kumajirou, looks like I have to take you back home now…"

At Matthew's comment, Feliciano—who has managed to give Kumajirou a piece of his pizza—automatically pouted at the thought of such a cute pet be returned back home.

"Oh _please _Romano, can't we just let Kumajirou stay with us for the rest of the day?"

Feliciano pleaded with those voluminous eyes of his.

That can bring any sensible person down to their knees.

Except for Romano.

"Oh no,"

Romano started, with his arms crossed around his chest.

"I'm not falling for _those _eyes Feliciano. It may work on your potato bastard of a bouncer—but it won't work on me!"

Romano was being strict about not letting Feliciano have his way.

_Again_.

"Come on Romano~! I'm pretty sure that Matthew will have Kumajirou within his arms the entire time. If not, I'll volunteer to hold him while Matthew is busy—promise~!"

Feliciano raised his right index finger, and made an "X" motion over his heart—saying that he _really _promises.

Romano pouts as he sees how this may make him look like the bad guy.

"_Or_ I could take him home this instant."

Matthew offers as he reaches over to get a hold of Kumajirou from within Feliciano's arms.

Romano huffs.

"As long as you keep that _fur ball _away from me, it's alright with me…"

"Really? Yay~!"

"Who are you?"

At Kumajirou's comment, both Romano and Feliciano look over at him.

Matthew sighs sadly.

"Did I forget to mention that Kumajirou can also speak?"

Romano looks even more freaked out than when he _saw _Kumajirou—let alone hear him _talk_.

Feliciano on the other hand—

"What~? That just adds to his cuteness~!"

He hugs Kumajirou closer to his body.

"That…is…an…_abomination_!"

Romano takes three steps away from Feliciano hugging Kumajirou.

"I thought that the person in charge of the dog shelter was messing with me when they told me that Kumajirou could talk."

Matthew shakes his head.

"Apparently, I was proven wrong. Alfred almost pissed in his pants when the first words out of Kumajirou's mouth were 'Hungry!'—he now accepts Kumajirou completely."

"Why was he in a dog shelter if he's a polar bear?"

Matthew looks at Feliciano.

"They mistook him for a dog since he was sniffing around and growling here and there."

"Ooh~"

Romano shakes his head.

"As long as your precious _Kumanji _doesn't do anything sneaky to me, it's alright with me. That goes to you too Feli—try _anything _funny with that _polar bear _and I won't let you go to your Arian bastard's house for a whole month. Got that?"

At Romano's warning, Feli nods his head vigorously.

"I promise Lovi~!"

* * *

><p>"So which one do you honestly think would look good on Matthew?"<p>

Feliciano holds in one hand tight black leather pants that were somewhat ripped on the sides, a leather jacket, and a white T-shirt.

In the other hand: dark blue denim skinny jeans, a black V-neck, and a red button-up shirt that would be put over the black V-neck.

Romano raises his eyebrow.

"Does it scream bartender?"

Romano looks at Feli.

"Can you picture Matthew wearing it Feli?"

Feliciano thinks it over.

"…Not _exactly_—but you could imagine him _not _putting on the red button-up shirt no?"

Romano laughs at Feliciano wiggling his hips.

"Do you think that Matthew has gotten out of the changing room yet?"

Romano shakes his head.

"Matthew carried _a lot _of clothes in there, remember?"

Feliciano nods his head.

"Poor Matthew~"

Romano snorts.

"It's _his _fault for having such a pathetic excuse for a closet. A shopping trip is _just the start_—and you _know _it Feli."

Feliciano nods his head in agreement.

"I just wish that Matthew knew _all _of the conditions about this bet Romano. Maybe you could give him a hint—"

"You know that I can't do that Feli. I may be the manager, but I'm not the owner of the club."

Romano shakes his head in defeat.

"I can only give him helpful hints concerning how to do the bet _right_, _not _on how to get out of it. Besides—"

Romano looks over his shoulder and makes a gesture to get Feliciano to come closer.

"—François Bonnefy told me that if it doesn't go according to plan, then Matthew will _never _get over his past flame if he keeps himself from being anti-social for much longer.

"_That's why_ I agreed to this in the first place…I can sympathize with Matthew on that, but for nearly two years? He seriously needs to move on. _Literally_."

Feliciano, noticing that Romano's been whispering as they got near the changing rooms, nods his head in understanding that it _had _to be kept a secret.

So shaking his head to erase the look he had on his face, Feliciano smiles gaily and goes through the door to the first changing room to their left.

"Matthew~! I have more clothes for you to try on~!"

Feliciano throws the clothes over the door with a great flourish as he hears a distinct "_More _clothes?" from behind the door.

"Don't be such an ass and try on the clothes already."

Romano comments as he leans against the wall near the door.

"How can I _not _complain? You're drowning me in enough clothes to kill me!"

From the inside of the changing room, all you could see was Matthew in the middle of a war of clothes thrown here and there all over the floor.

So much that you _couldn't _see the floor.

"Ve~! You agreed to this, remember? You should have known what that meant~!"

Feliciano was sitting on a chair beside Romano while saying that.

Matthew sighs.

"I agreed to the terms—where did it mention that I had to get a _closet full _of clothes?"

Romano scoffs loudly enough for Feliciano to laugh.

"Did you honestly ignore _everything _that I told you?"

Matthew was silent for a moment as he thinks about it.

"…I didn't ignore _everything _you said Romano—I must have heard wrong, that's all."

Romano makes a pouting face as Feliciano laughs.

"Do you want me to tell him Lovi~?"

Romano thinks about it for a bit.

"Okay the first part of the bet: you agreed to have your _whole wardrobe _renewed to fit the image of a _professional _bartender by Lovi and me~

"The second part: you _have to _let both men _and _women flirt with you if you want to get a lot of tips from them~

"Third part: you have to make ten thousand dollars in order to pay back the amount that your parents paid when they originally bought the house that you currently live in at the moment.

"And the last part: _if _you can be able to receive that amount of money within three months, then the house will be written under your name and it will officially become _your _house."

Feli was smiling humbly as he finished his long explanation.

"You agreed to the condition that Feli would teach you how to pole dance professionally enough to not be called a 'lousy bartender'. And that when you claim the house as yours to kick Alfred out of the house if you feel like it."

Romano mentions while all Matthew could do was separate what he tried on, what he needs to try on, and what were originally his clothes.

Matthew sighs.

'_No sense in denying something that I remember all too clearly…_'

"That's what I thought you said…but my _whole _wardrobe? What are you going to do with all of my other clothes?"

Romano chuckles.

"Don't worry, I have that all planned out…"

Matthew sighs as he resumes trying out the outfits that Feliciano and Romano have picked out for him.

* * *

><p>"What are we going to be doing now?"<p>

Romano and Feliciano look at Matthew as they try walking across the street with the other clusters of people. Each Vargas brother was holding three stuffed bags in each hand, while Matthew was holding two stuffed bags in one hand and Kumajirou in the other.

He's been surprisingly well behaved throughout the whole day, considering that he gets restless every two hours…

"We're going to get you some make-up~!"

Romano shook his head in amusement while Matthew tries to prevent a choking laugh from erupting from his lips.

"_What?_"

Feliciano, already ahead of Romano and Matthew, was walking into a small shop that held more of a jewelry vibe instead of a make-up spot.

"Wait here."

Romano was walking to his brother as Matthew sat on one of the chairs that would be used for customers to ask and try on some of the jewelry that was behind the shelf.

A woman with brown hair and sparkling gray eyes walks up to a bored Matthew, oblivious to her presence.

"May I help you with something…ma'am?"

Matthew turns to looks at the woman and see who she was talking to. Seeing that she was talking to him, Matthew looks to see where Romano and Feliciano have gone to.

"Do you mean me?"

The woman laughs.

"Of course I am! Do you need eye shadow? Mascara? Eye Liner? Lip gloss? Rouge? Compact?"

Matthew's head was swirling in confusion as he tries to figure out what exactly a 'compact' was, when he saw Romano lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Hello Katharine, how are you today?"

Matthew looks in surprise as 'Katharine' answers Romano's question.

"Lovino! How long has it been since you've bothered to grace us with your presence? Is Feliciano here with you as well?"

Romano nods his head as he laughs.

"Is this young woman a friend of yours Lovino?"

Romano laughs before he answers.

"Yes _he _is."

The woman widened her eyes as she registered what Romano said.

She blushes in embarrassment.

"I am _so _sorry! It's just that you look so much like a woman that—oh how _embarrassing_!"

Matthew laughs.

"It's alright. It happens a lot, so I know what to avoid answering."

"Katy~!"

Came Feliciano's voice from behind Romano and Matthew.

Katharine beamed with happiness.

"Feli!"

They both hug each other.

Romano laughs.

"We're here because our friend—" Romano points to Matthew, "—needs some make-up to get a _certain someone _in the upcoming months."

At this comment, Matthew blushes in embarrassment.

Katharine was looking at Matthew with a suspicious gleam in her eyes that Matthew couldn't comprehend at the moment, as she looks through some boxes behind the shelf.

"Let me see what we have…we have some of that one eye liner that Feli always buys…some of that mascara that you get Lovi…some of that eye shadow that Feli likes…and some of that flavored lip gloss that Feli picks up with you Lovi…I think that that's it."

"Can you give us two packages of all that you mentioned~?"

Feliciano was looking at Katharine as if she was the Make-Up Goddess herself.

Matthew was trying to hold back a laugh.

"The usual two or three this time?"

Romano was laughing at the expression Feliciano was making at Katharine for blowing him off so quickly.

"Three would be okay this time around—thank you Katharine."

Katharine smiles at Romano.

"Don't mention it. Do you want me to ring this up already?"

Feliciano nods.

"I'll pay for it."

* * *

><p>"Romano?"<p>

Romano, who was fighting with Feliciano about who would eat the last slice of chocolate cake, looks over to see Matthew's forehead crease.

He frowns a bit.

"Something the matter Matthew?"

"It's about Katharine…"

Romano laughs.

"What about her?"

Matthew shifts in his seat a bit.

Even though they sat in the corner of a crowded café, Matthew shifts his eyes to make sure that no one was listening to his conversation.

"Is it just me, or did she have this weird look in her eyes when she looked at me?"

At this, both Romano and Feliciano went silent.

Little did they know that Kumajirou was eating their chocolate cake…

"Well…"

Romano pauses as Feliciano makes a motion that says he'll tell Matthew.

Matthew didn't like this exchange very much.

"Katy is one hundred percent the stereotypical obsessed yaoi fan girl that you don't want to be involved with—but Katy's different."

Matthew was confused.

Romano sighs.

"Katharine has a thing for knowing if someone is going to turn straight or gay."

At this, Matthew's eyebrows rose up.

"You're joking right?"

Romano and Feliciano both shook their heads in disagreement.

"Well, what did she tell you guys? Am I going to stay gay or am I going to become straight?"

Romano looks at the wall in fascination, while Feliciano responds.

"She told us that…you were going to be gay."

"…"

Romano looks back at Matthew.

"She said 'He's going to be gay for sure. Just look at how feminine he looks! What sane gay guy wouldn't want to pound that cute ass of his into the mattress?' She never said if you were swinging either way."

Romano was blushing as he mentions that last sentence.

Matthew was blushing himself.

Feliciano was about to comment when he and Matthew turn to look at Romano shriek.

"Your _Kumalaka _just ate the piece of chocolate cake!"

Feliciano laughs.

"Well, that solves who was going to eat the piece of cake, no?"

Feliciano laughs even more at Matthew's comment.

Romano huffs.

"Ve~! I think that we should head back home. It's—" Feliciano checks his phone, "—5:35 p.m. Are you working tonight Matthew?"

Romano shook his head before Matthew could respond.

"Matthew has to organize his closet right now. After what we let slide as 'acceptable' of the few items of clothing that rest in his closet, he should be able to do so _correctly_."

Matthew nods his head in agreement.

Feliciano was pouting, however.

"But I wanted to show Matthew a few simple moves before he started his shift~!"

Romano ignores him as he's rummaging through one of the shopping bags.

Finding the one that he was looking for, he hands over a medium-sized black box with the letter "M" written in cursive on the top towards Matthew.

"We'll show you how to put on the stuff in there when you come back to work the next day, so no peeking until then."

Matthew nods his head as he accepts the box.

"Come on Kumajirou, let's go home."

After getting the bags from the Vargas brothers, Matthew was ready to leave.

"Matthew!"

Matthew turns to look at Romano with a questioning gaze.

"About the pole dancing lessons…"

"Yes?"

"…Why do you want to know how to pole dance?"

Matthew blinks in surprise.

He himself wonders why he said that as a condition.

"…I've always wanted to know what was so _alluring _about the way a person moves their body around a pole."

Romano gives him a skeptical look.

Matthew sighs.

"It's because…I want to at least know how to dance provocatively, when the time calls for it…"

Matthew blushes in embarrassment at Romano now knowing _why _he wants to pole dance so badly.

Romano blinks at him.

Romano laughs at him.

"Feliciano wanted to know how to do that too. Trust me, that's not the _only thing _you'll learn from pole dancing. I should know. I was the club's official pole dancer before I became the manager to À Deux."

Romano winks at Matthew provocatively as he wiggles his hips that leaves Matthew with the proof that Romano _does _know how to pole dance.

Maybe better than Feliciano.

Feliciano pouts.

"I thought that Matthew was going to learn pole dancing from _me_, not you Lovi~!"

Romano laughs.

"I was just showing Matthew that you're not the only one who knows how to _properly _pole dance. Remember: _I _taught _you _all that you know."

Matthew left his mouth hanging open in amazement.

_Romano_, of all people, taught Feliciano how to pole dance!

Feliciano's pout deepens.

"Now he's going to want _you _to teach him~!"

Romano shakes his head.

"I'm only going to mention a few tips here and there if the both of you get stuck on something that you can't explain right Feli. That's all. Promise."

Romano makes an "X" motion over his heart, and pretends to lock his mouth with an invisible key.

This seemed to satisfy Feliciano.

Matthew just shook his head to clear it.

"I'm going home now…I'll text you if anything changes Romano. Bye Feli."

Matthew receives a hug from Feliciano and a hand shake from Romano before he started to make his way back home before it got dark.

* * *

><p><em><strong>My inspiration while writing this was Adele's albums: 19 and 21.<strong>_

_**The song that was playing as Romano's ringtone: A Piece of You by Luka Megurine**_

_**I'm a vocaloid fan...I admit it...-.-;**_


	6. Don't Try This

_**O.o I would like to mention that the scene with Gilbert and Roderich at the house is how me and one of my sisters act when we've had too much sugar...don't judge, you know you've probably been down that road before...XD**_

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Six – Roderich<strong>_

'_Of all the crap that she could of asked me to do, she asked me to do this!_'

Gilbert walks to a store.

At Stonewood Mall.

With Roderich following behind in confusion.

"The Awesome Me doesn't need to 'dress up' for that club—and I thought that _she _was going to be shopping with me instead of you _Roddie-kun_!"

Gilbert humphs.

Roderich rubs his temples in thought.

"Liz said and I quote 'I don't want that dumbass going into that club thinking that he's _so badass _enough to automatically ruin his chance of even getting to _talk _to the girl—let alone convince her to go on a _date _with him, so I'm sending you to go with him. End of discussion.' End quote."

Gilbert groans.

"I'm not a teenager that needs the opinion of someone else to tell me if I look okay or not."

Roderich stares at Gilbert before he lets out a chuckle.

"With how you're acting right now, I would think that _how _you said that statement, you _are _a teenager."

Gilbert scoffs.

"Whatever. And here I thought that you wanted to talk to me about something—and since you're not going to give it the first hit, I'll have to do it myself. Does it have anything to do with _me in general _or are you still questioning the relationship between me and Liz?"

Roderich, who was looking at this nice polo shirt (for himself), looks at Gilbert in surprise before he thinks about answering Gilbert's question.

He sighs.

"You in general."

Gilbert relaxes slightly.

"And what would that be? My history with past lovers? Because if you're going to ask me that let me tell you right now that I haven't done anything—"

Roderich pats Gilbert on the back to silence an awkward conversation that Roderich was pretty sure _no one _wanted to hear.

"It's not about that—trust me on that. I'm more worried about how you're willing to go to a club that you've never been to before—let alone heard of—to go meet a girl just from Elizaveth telling you to do so."

Gilbert looks at Roderich for a moment, and then smiles at him.

"How long have you been with Liz, Roderich?"

Caught off guard, Roderich thinks about it.

"Well…close to three years now…"

Gilbert nods.

"Enough for her to let you call her 'Liz', right?"

Roderich nods, still mystified at what Gilbert was going with this train of thought.

Gilbert grins.

"I've known her my _whole _life, so I know a couple of handy things here and there."

Roderich tightens his hold on Gilbert.

Gilbert shakes his head.

"Not _those _kinds of things you perv…"

At Gilbert's comment, Roderich blushes in embarrassment.

"Then what did you mean…?"

Gilbert leads Roderich out of the store and towards some seats nearby.

Looking for a place to sit down away from eavesdroppers, that is.

Sitting down, Gilbert lets out a sigh.

"Did Liz ever tell you about her 'special techniques'?"

Roderich thinks for a moment, and then shakes his head.

"She said _something _like that—but it was said as a joke."

Gilbert frowns.

"This is going to be much harder than to what I thought it was going to be…"

Roderich looks at Gilbert in confusion.

"What are you talking about Gilbert? What 'special techniques' does Elizaveth possess?"

Gilbert nervously chuckles as he rubs the back of his head.

"Well…you see…"

"…yes?"

"…um…she _really _didn't tell you?"

Roderich sighs.

"She told me that she has these 'vibes' when two certain people are going to be having a happy life together. But when she saw my surprised expression, she told

me that it was joke that she likes to tell everyone she knows."

Gilbert lets out a long breath.

"Well…let's just say that it was true."

"What do you mean?"

Roderich looks at Gilbert sharply.

"What if I told you that Liz isn't lying about how she has these 'vibes' about two specific people being happy with each other?"

"You mean to tell me that Elizaveth wasn't joking around? But—!"

Roderich sputters.

Gilbert shakes his head at Roderich's outburst.

"It's true, all of it."

Roderich shakes his head as he stares down at his hands hanging in between his knees.

"She wasn't messing around, was she?"

Gilbert shakes his head.

"…what does this have to do with what you were telling me right now?"

Gilbert looks over to see Roderich staring at him.

Gilbert sighs.

"You know…I don't even know myself, but whenever Liz has a hunch about two people 'getting together' or 'hooking-up' she's almost 99% right."

Roderich furrows his eyebrows.

"_Almost 99%?_"

Gilbert nods his head.

"99%"

"Then what about the remaining 1%?"

Gilbert hesitates, but answers.

"…the only time that she would be wrong about that 1%, would be when she didn't notice a small detail here, or something about how that person isn't even available. That sort of stuff makes a difference, or so she says."

Gilbert shrugs.

"I know that I've had my share of horrid endings. Don't get me started on those."

He shudders.

Roderich laughs.

"And here I thought that you were sleeping around with everyone to forget the pain when Elizaveth chose me instead of you—but to actually find out that you were looking for your special someone—"

Roderich shakes his head.

Gilbert laughs.

"I know…hard to believe, right? I've always followed her advice without a hint of doubt."

They both stay silent for a while, each one pondering within their own minds.

"…Did she ever mention how it was going to be with her and me?"

Roderich asks after a long pause.

Gilbert thinks about it for a bit.

"…She always said that her Prince Charming was going to be wearing glasses…She also said that he was going to give her the love that she wouldn't've expected from…"

Roderich coughs suddenly, making Gilbert laugh his famous laugh.

"Is she accurate or what? It _still _scares me sometimes on how good she's able to tell if my night is going to be okay enough…"

"Anyways, so now that you know about her 'special techniques' does it ruin your image of her, or what?"

Roderich thinks about it.

"…in a more positive way instead of a negative way, but I hardly think that it would be fair to automatically call her a 'fake' and to not really see the process first-

hand."

Gilbert laughs.

"Still don't believe it? Whatever. It's your word against hers."

* * *

><p>"So did you fix the dispute between you and your two friends?"<p>

Gilbert chokes on a spoonful of vanilla yogurt at Roderich's sudden question.

Roderich laughs while Gilbert is still hacking away.

After Gilbert has somewhat calmed down (somewhat), he clears his throat.

"Funny that you should mention that."

At Roderich's confused look, Gilbert explained.

"I thought that Liz was going to ask me instead of you—no offense. Yeah I fixed it, but it was pretty awkward on where _that _conversation started to head towards…"

Roderich nods in understanding, having to deal with his strawberry-flavored yogurt himself, as he tries to pay attention to what Gilbert is saying.

"So it started out like this: I go in Canorous since I thought that I was going to be working my shift, and I see Matthias working as the host! I mean, I can normally tolerate him on a semi-daily basis, but I was really pissed that day.

"So I go over and demand to know why he's working instead of me. He tells me that Kiku told him that he _had to _work since I was being a little bitch about it. I just looked at Matthias until he cracked. Turns out that 'Tonio told Kiku about our 'little problem'.

"And since Kiku didn't want to 'butt in' decided to let Matthias work instead. So I go over to Kiku and demand what his problem is—when I see 'Tonio heading my way. I go hide behind the door separating the guests from the food.

"Anyways, when he got a good two—three—inches through the door, I pulled him up against me and I got a hold of his collar. 'What's your problem?' I asked him. He shook his head and said 'I had to say something, or else Kiku would have fired the both of us!'

"I let him go and try to find France since it was around our usual break time. I asked 'Tonio where he was going to meet France. 'At the Starbucks® between Excelsior and Cheshire' he said.

"…I'm not going to go over the specifics since you're going to be freaked out by what France says—trust me, you don't want to know the half of it—anyways, so when we've settled out our 'misunderstandings' as France would put it, we talked as if we haven't talked in a while.

"Eventually France mentions that he has a 'daughter'. This caught Tonio's and my attention. I mean fuck, Tonio and France aren't old enough to look like they would have kids—considering that I'm practically around the same age as them—so that scared the crap out of me.

"But then France explained that he and his hubby—I forget his name—adopted twins and raised them since they can't exactly make their own, you know? So then 'Tonio mentions that he's been with this bitchy dude—forgot his name too—for around a year or two.

"France seemed disappointed that 'Tonio was already taken, so he turns to look at me. I guess that I should have noticed automatically by the weird look France was giving me, but I ignored it. Big mistake. He goes into detail about how his daughter fell in love with this one dude.

"Dude pretends that he loved her back. They hook-up. Then, when she thought that it couldn't get any better, he dumps her ass. And she's been an emo chick for some time. I felt bad about his daughter but hey, what the hell was I supposed to do? France seemed to sense my question.

"He told me that if I wanted I could meet her and see if I wanted to hook-up with her the next time she passes by that one club that he owns."

"…Is he that confident that you'll cure his daughter's depression?"

Roderich asks, disbelief coloring his voice.

He wasn't the only one.

Gilbert furrows his eyebrows.

"I thought that it sounded fishy as well, so I asked him what the hell he was doing. 'Why Gilbert! Why would you ask such a hurtful question~? I thought that you might want to get to know my little Maddie so that _both _of your problems could be solved! Am I a genius or what? Ahohohohohohohohohohohohohoho~!'

"I just stared as he went off in his laughing rampage while 'Tonio was agreeing with him. 'Why are we talking about this?' I asked the both of them. They stared at one another before they looked at me. 'We thought…' 'Tonio started when France shook his head in a 'no' gesture.

"France looked at me and said 'Why don't you stop by the club at 9 o'clock, when the club's _really _hitting off and I could show you my little Maddie to you? If you don't like what you see, then that's that!' 'Tonio nodded in agreement.

"I glared at them. 'I feel like you guys are planning something sinister…' I said, making France's face whiten, and 'Tonio looking around him in distraction, the both ignoring what I was saying. 'I'll go to the club. Just send me a text to where it's at and where I'll be meeting you France, guess I'll see you later 'Tonio,' I said.

"Before I started to get my way out of there, the cook stopped me. Ivan—that's the cook's name—looked at me thoroughly before he figured out that I wasn't who he wanted to talk to, and the three of us quickly made our way through the crowd. For me, it was to get out the door.

"I came home yesterday around the time I would usually come if I was working, when I saw you and Elizaveth talking and—"

"Yes, I know from that point onward."

Roderich responds with laughter lacing his voice.

"What's so funny? You should be sympathizing with me—you know, with that whole brotherhood or The Code or some other shit like that."

Roderich kept on laughing.

Gilbert grimances.

"I'm glad that I'm able to make you laugh at my expense."

Gilbert adds bitterly.

Roderich tries to stifle his laughs.

He coughs.

"On a serious note, that _is _kind of strange that your friend—France?—would want you to become interested with his daughter. Does he want you to become a part of the family?"

Gilbert thinks about it before he frowns.

"…he said that he always wanted me and 'Tonio to be blood brothers with him, 'Tonio said that he would have to ask whatever godly deity was out there to make his wish come true. I said that he would have to adopt some cute looking child and—"

"—hope that one day the two of you would get along so well, that you marry one another and you can call him 'Papa France'."

Roderich cuts off Gilbert.

Gilbert realizes what he said during that time when whatever he said would be ignored.

Apparently not.

So, he smacks his forehead.

Really hard.

"Of all the most stupid shit that I've said—"

"—That has to be the most ultimate display of irony."

Roderich comments lightly.

Gilbert shakes his head.

"If only Lutz would look at me now—"

Roderich looks up when Gilbert hasn't finished his comment, to see a look of disgust written upon his face.

If Gilbert wasn't going to dwell upon it, then neither was Roderich.

Roderich decides on trying another route to converse in.

"So…who's Lutz? I'm sure that I've never heard of that name before…"

Gilbert bristles automatically at the mentioning of his brother.

Roderich notices this, of course.

"You don't have to tell me at all—maybe I'm just prying into something that's not within my bounds to ask—I mean, I apologize if I'm offending you—"

"Lutz is my younger brother."

Roderich stays silent as Gilbert calmly answers.

"Elizaveth _did _tell me that you had siblings—she never dwelled too much into something that wasn't her business. Or so she says."

Gilbert nods in understanding.

"She gives me too much credit sometimes…"

"You give her unadulterated trust; I hardly see what the difference between these two subjects are."

Gilbert shakes his head.

"I'm not talking about 'trust issues', I'm talking about my family. She's every bit apart of it. Whether she wants to accept it or not is her problem to deal with."

Gilbert laughs.

"So anyways, I have a younger brother. His name is Ludwig, but I've always called him Lutz. We're not as close as before, but I don't let it escape me that he's my blood brother. It's not as if I've denounced him or something."

Gilbert shakes his head.

"I did something idiotic enough to get us mad at each other that I've now realized I shouldn't have done. Fuck, it's not as if I have a time machine and could change back everything before it happened, right? This was a couple of—years? Months? I don't even remember how far back it was, but it was some stretch of time. I didn't approve of his lover—which got us into a fight—add Elizaveth running away—and that's what ended happening on _both _of our ends."

"…Does it bother you from time to time, thinking of different scenarios on how you could have taken his response differently?"

Gilbert releases a weak laugh.

"I've thought up of more than twenty different response on how I could have handled it differently—but it always leads back to the one that I regret leaving with him. I hardly talk with him, but my mom sends me some e-mails from time to time. Updating me on how Lutz and his lover are doing…did I forget to mention that his lover is a guy?"

Roderich stares at Gilbert in disbelief.

Gilbert, whose been looking at the floor, turns his head up at Roderich.

He chuckles quietly.

"My younger brother's into dudes, and I didn't even know until the day that he brought his lover through the door. I wasn't the only one shocked, but I _was _the only one who stayed shocked after a good while.

"I honestly don't know what came over me that day. Maybe I was mad at Lutz—mad at everyone—or just mad at everyone accepting this sudden change as if it was the most natural thing, but the next thing that registers in my head is that I'm being pulled off of Lutz's lover by Lutz himself. I guess that I mauled his lover, because I saw him carrying some bruises and cuts—I had some too—I was then hauled into my bedroom by my dad and Lutz.

"I let Lutz lock me in my room. Not even ten minutes passing by, in comes Liz through my window—I lived in the second floor of the house—and tells me that her dad compared her to Anastasia again, and asked me if we would be leaving some time soon.

"She noticed that I was mauled up then and there. She knew by the look in my eyes that it had to do with Lutz, so she let it drop. I told her that _I _had to leave right then and there—but if she wants to—she could come along with me and try to find a way out without being noticed.

"She agrees and tells me that she'll have all of the important items that she really needs—along with some valuable treasures of hers—in about an hour, entering through my window when she's ready. I told her that I'll be ready within the hour as well. Along with all of my savings that I saved for this occasion."

Roderich frowns.

"Didn't your parents suspect that something was going on with you by the time that you and Elizaveth had packed all of your belongings?"

Gilbert nods.

"They were wondering how I was able to be quiet for so long, so they sent Lutz up the stairs to check-up on me. By the time that Lutz knocked my door, I was out of the window—with Liz—and heading towards my new black Toyota Corolla® in the garage.

"When Lutz barged through the door—with our parents and his lover behind him—they saw that my room was empty of me. How'd I know that? I heard them coming towards the garage to check if I didn't run off to France's or 'Tonio's house to crash for the night. They were wrong, as you know.

"Liz started to get panicky because she thought that they were going to catch us. I laughed and told her what my parent's probably thought I was going. She wasn't convinced. By the time I pulled out of the drive-way, Liz said that she saw Lutz going into the garage.

"I scoffed at her. She thought that the Corolla® was Lutz's. He did ride it all of the time, but it's registered under my name. I told Liz this as we managed to get out of Fresno at 11 p.m. She was screaming bloody murder—since I was going past the speed limit—while she thought that my parents would try to track us down after my parents find out from Liz's parents that she ran away with me.

"I laughed at her and told her how they're going to find out where we're going? She called me stupid because they could track us by our cellphones. I laughed at her. She smacked me and demanded to know what was so funny. I told her that she should erase all of her contacts and throw her phone out the window.

"She gave me a funny look and asked me why. I told her that if she wanted them to find us really quick, then she should have her phone on and _not_erase all of her contacts off her phone. She did as I told her. When we were out of the city limits, she asked me why I didn't do the same thing.

"I pulled out my phone and showed her why. My phone was deactivated. She punched me so hard that we almost crash! But she started to laugh. She asked me how long I've deactivated my phone for. I told her that it's been like that for around a couple of days.

"So we registered the car officially to Liz, and we bought a new phone for her. We started our new life here in L.A. We've been here ever since. For a short period of time, we had to dye our hair a different color. It was funny watching Liz turn from a brunette into a blonde.

"She would hit me if I mention the word 'blonde' nowadays, but she always thought that the color—was it plum or purple? Don't remember—that one purplish color suited me. Because it made it look as if I was a model for this one thing—my head's hurting from all of this remembering—and we had to get blue contacts since her green eyes stood out.

"In my case, there were weird people who wore red-colored contacts daily, so it wasn't strange to see another person walking around with a pair of red eyes."

Gilbert releases a huge sigh, finishing his long monologue about what happened to Elizaveth and him.

"And that brings us to a full circle once more. Did that answer any questions that you might've had?"

Roderich nods.

"All of them except one, that is."

Gilbert looks at Roderich in amazement.

"How old were you when you ran away from home?"

Gilbert thinks about it.

"I think that I was around…eighteen...nineteen? I know that it was in my teenage years—not that young, but not that old either."

Roderich nods his head in agreement.

"That's quite a young age for you to be sure enough to set out—with another person, mind you—to a city that you hardly know after you've lived your entire life in a reasonable city."

Gilbert nods his head.

"We had to ration out what we _needed _and what we _wanted_. The things we had to get in order to manage by! If you haven't noticed already, me and Liz _always _have very few left overs—in our mind set, it's if there's a moment where the left overs become necessary—you know, things like that."

Gilbert gets up from his place on the bench, and stretches.

"What time is it?"

Roderich glances at his wrist-watch.

"It's 5:46 p.m."

Gilbert gasps dramatically.

"You mean that my Awesomeness spent a whole _hour and a half _telling you my epic life story when we could have been _shopping _Awesome Clothes for the Awesome Me?"

Roderich rolls his eyes at Gilbert's antics, and laughs.

"Do you want to stay here and try to look for something, or pretend that we did—found nothing that we liked—and decided to schedule it for another day?"

Gilbert stares at Roderich for a while before he's busting up laughing.

"_Dude_! I didn't know that you could mess around with Liz like that! You are like the best friend that I want to have around me for occasions when Liz is ready to

throw the shoe at me!"

Roderich laughs at Gilbert's funny expression.

"How about it then? Tell the truth or say that you honestly don't like this mall?"

Gilbert chuckles.

"Honestly? I don't care about this mall—and I don't want Liz to think that I've gone all soft—so we'll say that I hate the crap that's in this mall."

Roderich nods in agreement.

"Will she really believe that?"

Gilbert raises one of his eyebrows.

"Have you told her lies before?"

Roderich coughs.

"W-Well o-of course I h-have! Only when it was necessary, though!"

Gilbert laughs at Roderich's display of embarrassment.

"Alright tough guy, _I'll _tell her that I didn't like any of the crap in this mall."

"I could just as easily tell her that Gilbert—"

"—Nah ya won't! You'll weave this weird thing that will have her suspecting something. At least with me she'll know that I weeded out _some _truths. Not all, but some. Enough to keep her satisfied for a while, at least."

Roderich sighs.

"It's your choice Gilbert."

Gilbert grins.

"Who ever said that it wasn't?"

* * *

><p>"So then I was like 'Oh hell nah!'…and then he was all like 'Don't make me do it!'…and then I was all like ''Oh yeah? Well do it!'…and then he was all like 'Say it to my face!'…so then I was about to tell it to him straight when—"<p>

"Wait what? Are you serious? What happened with that one dude? I thought that—"

"I know! I thought that too, but it _wasn't_! So then I thought 'Oh hell nah! I'm not letting this weirdo near me!' and then he must have read my mind 'because he was all like—"

Elizaveth grinds her teeth together in irritation.

This was _not _what she wanted to come through the door.

The last thing she wanted was for their asses to come home late.

"I-I-I think that I-I-I've heard dis befoe. Whe-Where you weith me dat day?"

A pause.

"W-W-W-Wait a minute…I dink chu were! Hey~!"

"Hey~!"

Glasses clinking together.

Elizaveth rubs her forehead.

She didn't want Gilbert and Roderich to come home drunk.

She specifically told them that they could do anything that they wanted to—just don't get drunk.

Obviously they didn't listen.

Or should she say—_Gilbert _didn't listen, and convinced her poor Roddie-kun to do it as well.

Elizaveth sighs.

Might as well get this over with.

"Hey, you guys."

A moment of silence.

"Hey~! Did ya hear something Rodger?"

Gilbert loudly whispers.

"Hear wat Glib?"

Roderich loudly whispers back.

Gilbert holds a finger close to his lips, telling Roderich to listen.

Both were in the kitchen, while Elizaveth was standing in the little passage way from the living room to the kitchen, watching their every move.

With a camera in her hands.

Roderich and Gilbert both get up—as slowly as they could possible—and start to head towards the living room, their drinks long forgotten.

"I dink dat deh noise came from here Rodger!"

Gilbert tells Roderich, who was behind him.

"I don't dink dat there's anyting in here Glib—let's get back to dah kitchen."

Elizaveth stifles a laugh.

She then clears her throat.

"What do the two of you think that you are doing at eleven o'clock at night drinking? I thought that we were too old to be coming home drunk as hell!"

Roderich, who was closer to Elizaveth, runs to the couch and tries to shrink himself into it.

Gilbert on the other hand, falls on the floor and crawls his way over to Roderich, who was shuddering in fear.

When Gilbert reaches the couch, Roderich automatically clings to him.

Gilbert does the same thing.

Elizaveth turns around to face them, and laughs.

"Oh my gawd! You should have seen the look on your faces~! And I got it on camera too~!"

While Elizaveth was still squealing, Gilbert and Roderich haven't released their hold on one another.

Elizaveth scoffs.

"Come on you two. I've seen your guy's ass's _way _more drunk than this, so stop it with the act. I know that the both of you are somewhat sober—so cut it out."

Roderich and Gilbert automatically release one another and start laughing at each other.

Elizaveth joins them in their laughter.

"What's this about? Did you guys not find anything that would look good on Gilbert?"

Roderich and Gilbert look at each other, and both shake their heads.

"He kept on leading me into stores that looked half-assed!"

"He wanted to go into Victoria's Secret® and see if he could convince some of the workers there to try it on for him."

"Well, you wanted to buy this one weird-looking thing—"

Roderich covers Gilbert's mouth, laughing nervously.

"In short—Gilbert didn't like the limited options in the Stonewood Mall, so he decided to go to the Puente Hills Mall. Is that okay with you Elizaveth?"

Elizaveth, suspicious as to what Gilbert was talking about, smiles at Roderich's question.

"You do realize that the two of you have to wake up early tomorrow in order to find an outfit for Gilbert and then go off to work, _riiiight_?"

Elizaveth smiles sweetly.

Gilbert flinches.

Roderich coughs.

They both nod.

"Good! Then I'll see you tomorrow! Goodnight boys~!"

At Elizaveth's retreating form, Gilbert and Roderich automatically panic.

"What are we going to do Gilbert? What if she finds out that we didn't really bother with searching the mall? What if she plans on getting revenge on us? I don' want to—"

"—That won't happen Roderich. We just need to quickly browse through the stores, get the outfit, see if it suits my Awesome Tastes, and then we high-tail it out of there! Simple enough."

Roderich grimances at Gilbert's choice of words.

"You do realize that we need to do this quickly but also wake up early, right? _And _make it in time for work tomorrow!"

Gilbert grins at Roderich.

"What time do you go in for work?"

Roderich scoffs.

"Which one are you talking about?"

Gilbert rolls his eyes.

"Which one do you think?"

Roderich gives Gilbert an exasperated look.

"I go in at noon. What about you?"

Gilbert grins.

"Same time."

Roderich gives Gilbert a look of confusion.

"Then why would Elizaveth want us to wake up early if we don't go in until noon?"

Gilbert laughs.

"Because she wants to make sure that my Awesomeness isn't showing when she points out who the girl is later on tomorrow night."

Roderich laughs at Gilbert's expression when he understood what exactly he said.

"Damn, your woman's good Roderich. _Really _good."

Roderich laughs.

"I'm starting to understand how the two of you managed to escape Fresno so easily…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>My inspiration for this chapter – Happy Synthesizer by Luka Megurine and Gumi; Anti The Infinite Holic by Luka Megurine and Rin Kagamine <strong>_


	7. Sort of Dance Lesson

_**O_o I just realized that I might have gotten the lyrics to "You and I" wrong. I apologize...**_

_**Would you believe me if I told you that my inspiration for this chapter was Evanescence?**_

_**...**_

_**Me neither...XD**_

_**ENJOY!**_

_**Chapter Seven – (Feliciano) Italy**_

"What the hell was _that_?"

Grunting from the person being talked to.

A 'humph' from the speaker.

"I specifically told you _not _to do that!"

An exasperated moan.

A scoff.

"Hips outwards _provocatively_—_not _inwards as if you're virgin watching porn for the first time in your life and you can't even keep it in your pants!"

An exasperated sigh is the only response from the other person in the room besides the speaker.

"It's not that fucking hard for your body to move like that! You just have to let your body flow _naturally_—not as if you're about to spasm or throw up right now!"

"Don't you think that you're being too rough on Matthew~?"

Music, that was playing the entire time, is abruptly cut off at Feliciano's comment.

"Well, do _you _want to tell him how he should move around?"

Matthew sighs.

So far, they've been rehearsing for around half an hour—and within that span of time, Romano has managed to work him down with knowing the beat to each song; Feliciano has told Matthew where the important parts of the body go up against the main places of the pole.

All at once, that is.

Add the fact that they're practicing in the house that Matthew lives in—along with a portable pole—pretty much sums up what they're doing at the moment.

Romano rubs in between his eyes.

'_Fucking _great_. All that me and Feli were supposed to do was show Matthew a few simple moves here and there—but to find out that he doesn't even _

_know to dance—it's gotten even _more_ complicated!_'

Feliciano walks up to Matthew—who was sitting on the floor in exhaustion—and quickly pulls him to his feet.

"I think that we should start with how you position yourself _without _our help Matthew, no~?"

Matthew and Romano both sigh.

"Alright, it's not as if I've had much time to know anything else…"

Feliciano smiles at Matthew.

"That's the spirit~!"

Matthew walks up to the portable pole, and grabs it with both hands; one hand on top of the other.

"Good job Matthew~!"

Romano humphs.

"Now, try to figure out which parts of your body should meet the pole."

Matthew hesitantly—but confidently—brushes his cheek, chest, groin, thighs, knees, and calves around the pole.

Almost as if he was straddling a lover instead of the pole in front of him.

"Wow~! You're doing great Matthew~!"

Romano hums his approval.

"Okay. Now try to rub up against the pole as if it were the most ultimate imaginary person that you have the hots for."

Matthew—who was about to do what Romano said—automatically pulls himself away from the pole, blushing in embarrassment.

"W-What? I-I'm not doing that!"

Feliciano blinks at Matthew in confusion.

"Why not~?"

Romano grins at Matthew.

"It's because he doesn't wanna show _how _well he fantasizes about his 'sexy' piece of man."

Matthew blushes even more.

Romano laughs.

"That shouldn't worry you Matthew. The whole point of pole dancing is to give off the image that you're dancing to let everyone know that you'd be willing to give every single one of them your attention."

Matthew, who has calmed down from the blushing, looks at Romano in amazement.

"Why don't you tell him that he's also dancing because he'll find his one True Love if he dances good enough to catch his Love's attention Lovi~?"

Romano coughs quiet suddenly in embarrassment from Feliciano's sudden outburst.

"Just because you've managed to find yours quickly enough doesn't mean that it'll be a sure win for Matthew! You don't see _me _with someone—and I've been working at this club longer than you have—do you?"

Feliciano and Matthew look at Romano in confusion.

"I thought that you didn't like to bring your boyfriend into the club because you don't want him to be unfaithful—"

"It's not that I don't _want _to bring him into the club—he's not my _boyfriend_, we're just _friends_!—he prefers to pick days when I'm working, that's _all_."

Matthew looks at Romano in amusement.

"Why don't you show him how to do normal-paced songs Feli?"

"Ve~? Okay~!"

Matthew walks over to where Romano is at—against a wall near the entrance to the house—both watching as Feliciano walks up to the pole.

Romano turns to look at the radio that Matthew let them borrow—mentally shuddering at the color—and pushes the 'play' button.

Automatically, Feliciano is swaying his hips from side to side around the pole.

Matthew blushes as he sees Feliciano having fun.

The music goes into a change; making the rhythm that Feliciano had speed up.

Feliciano turns around the pole—facing it—and dancing with it. Everything that he could touch—hands, legs, arms, his face—he put up against the pole.

When the beat would slow down—Feliciano would slow down; when the beat would come back more hypnotically—Feliciano would twist himself around the pole and swing his hips to the rhythm.

He kept on dancing through all of the pauses like that until the song ended.

When there was a moment of silence, Feliciano releases the pole from his grasp and walks towards Romano, who was smirking.

Matthew blinks in amazement.

Romano laughs happily.

"It's really memorizing when you see it all pieced together, no?"

Matthew nods his head in agreement.

"But you messed up around the part when you're supposed to _slide _against the pole—not _brush up _against it Feli."

Matthew turns to look at Feliciano nod happily at Romano's criticisms in surprise.

"I felt as if I was about to slip at that moment, so I only brushed up against the pole to prevent me from falling on my face~!"

Romano—nodding at Feliciano's comment—looks over at Matthew and frowns.

"Are you sure that you're dressed properly to continue with these lessons?"

Matthew, who was thinking about how to move his body and let it go with the music, sees that Feliciano is also looking at his clothes in contemplation.

Matthew furrows his eyebrows.

"I thought that you said that athletic clothes would work just fine. _No one _told me that I had to specifically wear something while pole dancing."

Romano eyes Matthew's clothes closely: he's wearing some sweat pants and a tank top. While the tank top looks promising—the pants don't.

End of discussion.

"Your pants look like crap."

"Maybe if you wear a pair of skinny jeans instead of the sweat pants~?"

Matthew sighs.

"Do I really have to do that?"

Romano and Feliciano both nod in mutual agreement.

"Okay, I'll change pants. I'm warning you now: if you see Alfred spontaneously burst through the door in the next couple of minutes—"

"Why would he do that~?"

"It's because he wants to annoy Matthew every chance he gets—the bastard."

Matthew laughs at both comments spoken at the same time.

"It's more like to make sure I'm not doing anything illegal enough for him to tell our parents about it automatically."

Matthew shrugs nonchalantly.

"It's been pre-programed with him, so no stopping him there. Although if he asks what the two of you are doing—"

"We'll tell him that I'm going over the minor details of the bet with you—"

"And I'll tell him that I'm helping you how to pole dance~!"

Matthew's eyes widen.

"Don't tell him that—!"

"Why would we tell him _that_—?"

Romano has a horrified look on his face.

Along with Matthew.

Feliciano laughs at their horrified expression on their faces.

"I'm not going to tell him that~ It would ruin the fun, no~?"

At Feliciano's comment: Romano smacks his forehead while Matthew just stares at him in amazement.

"How about you work on getting those skinny jeans on?"

Matthew nods at Romano's suggestion, heading towards his room.

The moment that Matthew rounded the corner, Romano walks in front of Feliciano.

Feliciano, who was looking at the radio in fascination, looks up to see Romano's hurt expression.

"Is it really _that _obvious that I don't want that Tomato Bastard to cheat on me?"

Feliciano, expecting for Romano to smack him again, lowers his arms from his face and brings his brother into a warm hug. Rubbing his hand on Romano's back in comfort.

"I never said that it was _obvious_—I meant that you probably don't trust him enough to believe him when he tells you that he wouldn't do that to you. He _has _mentioned that right?"

Romano sighs.

"More than you can count. He wants my attention day and night! He won't even let me _sleep_! What the hell! If you have the energy to bug people day and night, why not do it to your friends first _and then _your loved ones!"

Romano slaps a hand over his mouth and blushes automatically.

Feliciano looks to see Romano struggling from his hold on him.

Frowning, Feliciano releases Romano.

Feliciano sighs.

"I've told you this before: I think that Antonio is the right person for you. _Not _because he's after your money. _Not _because he's after your body. _Not _because he's going to use you and then abuse you. It's because he _cares _about you! How many people are willing to hang around you _not _including me?"

Romano sighs.

"It's not that I don't doubt you Feli—quite the opposite. What if I lose my heart and he's not willing to give it back? What if I go too far to come back? Those kinds of questions bother me night and day. More than they should Feli. It makes me doubt my relationship with that Tomato Bastard every day that he _doesn't _call me…"

Feliciano looks at Romano incredulously.

"What? Are you serious? This is _Antonio _that we are talking about—not Matthew's father!"

Romano flinches at Feliciano's comment.

"I know, it's just that—"

"It's just that what Lovi? 'That was _different_. You won't _understand_.' Bullshit! _Of course _I would understand! I'm your brother! And don't siblings know when they know that they're bothered by something?"

Before Romano could respond to Feliciano's comment, Feliciano raises his hand to Romano's mouth.

"I'll always be your younger brother that may sound annoying—I'm not going to change that habit very soon—so don't assume that I won't understand some things just because of my age alone. I don't want a void to be there between us when we least expect it. I'd just wish that you could confide in me more often…"

Feliciano lowers his hand, his voice growing soft in sadness.

Romano grabs Feliciano by the arms, and pulls him into a bone-crushing hug.

"I wish that I could tell you everything…but I can't. It's not just my side to tell. I'm sorry to disappoint you. You're right: I won't close up about most stuff anymore. _Again_. Thanks Feli."

Romano lets go of Feliciano and gives him a sincere smile.

Feliciano smiles back at Romano.

Both sigh.

"So…what now~?"

**BAM!**

Both Italian brothers jump in surprise as the front door slams open.

"Raise your hands up where I could see them!"

Feliciano and Romano both raise their hands up in the air at the booming voice's instruction.

A moment later, they hear laughter erupting from the front door.

Romano—pissed off—walks up to the door and drags a laughing Alfred from the front door to the living room floor.

Feliciano—who let his arms fall down after seeing Alfred being dragged—tries to stuff the portable pole back into the bag that Romano brought before Alfred could start asking uncomfortable questions.

It wasn't looking too good at the moment.

"What the hell was _that_? You scared the shit out of me and Feli here!"

Alfred laughs even louder as Romano tries to hit him on his head and stomach.

"Dude, calm down! I thought that Mattie was entertaining that one dude with the specks again—but when I saw your Camaro® parked in the drive-way—I knew that it was you two. I just couldn't pass up the chance to really scare you, so I didn't!"

Feliciano's whimpering catches Romano's attention.

"I have a feeling that you trashed my car. You're coming with me to see if you ruined anything at all!"

Romano starts to drag Alfred back outside.

"Whoa! I never said that I was going to do that—hey! Let me go! I did nothing, you hear? Noth—!"

The door slams behind them.

Feliciano quickly tries to _properly _stuff the stupid piece of shit inside of Romano's bag.

Hey, Feliciano only uses foul language when it's necessary.

You all should be thankful.

As Feliciano pushes the remaining part of the portable pole down Romano's bag, Matthew walks in with Kumajirou within his arms.

"I'll only let you out if you promise not to be anywhere near Romano again, alright?"

"Yay!"

"…I guess that's all that I can ask from you at the moment…"

Matthew looks up to see Feliciano zipping up the bag carrying the portable pole.

"Why are you shoving the pole inside of Romano's bag Feli…?"

Feliciano, who is done stuffing the pole in Romano's bag, jumps upon hearing Matthew's sudden voice from behind him.

"I'm guessing since Romano doesn't want Alfred to find out about the pole—they're both outside~!—he wants me to hide the pole from Alfred's line of sight~!"

"…How did Romano manage to haul Alfred outside without him having to see a six foot pole in the middle of the living room?"

Feliciano blinks at Matthew's question.

"That's exactly how he did it~!"

Matthew looks at Feliciano in confusion.

"Wait—what? How did he do that exactly—?"

Both stop to listen the shouting coming from outside of the door.

"YOU OBVIOUSLY SCRATCHED THE PAINT JOB!"

"I DID _NOT_! WHERE ARE YOU GETTING THESE WILD IDEAS FROM?"

"I'LL SHOW YOU WHERE I GOT THEM FROM—!"

Matthew's eyes widen in panic.

"Did I forget to mention that I can't have a fight in front of the house?"

Feliciano can see Romano about to pummel Alfred through the front door—which was left open—before he hears Matthew mutter a quick 'Take Kumajirou!' and dashes outside.

"How are you today Kumajirou~?"

"Pasta!"

Kumajirou responds back.

"Oh~? Is that a nickname for me~?"

Kumajirou nods his head.

"Yay~! Do you want me to make one for you~?"

Kumajirou just looks at Feliciano.

"Hungry!"

Feliciano laughs.

"I agree~! Let's make some pasta, no~?"

"Yay!"

* * *

><p>Matthew rubs the bridge of his nose with two fingers.<p>

"Okay, explain it to me again: _what _exactly happened within the ten minutes it took for me to change from my sweat pants into my skinny jeans?"

"Me and Feli were waiting for you to come out of your room, when suddenly this crazy bastard thought that it would be _hilarious _if he managed to scare the crap out of Feli and me. So he does, and I drag him into the house. Then I find out that he must have scratched the paint job on my car, and drag him back outside to see what the damage to my car was.

"Then he starts to claim this 'I dunno what you're talking about' air around him and that gets me pissed off. So then I tell him to look over every part of my Camaro® that may have been marked. After a while, he starts to get all pouty and starts telling me that I'm crazy for thinking that he would ruin my car—knowing that I was going to be over-protective—and starts to tell me off. I tell him that he's crazy and then we were about to fight right then and there—"

"—when you came in all of your 'No one's going to be hurting anyone' glory and pulled us _way_apart from each other. And then you asked us what the hell was going on."

Matthew rubs his temples in frustration.

"That's what I thought you said…"

Romano scoffs.

"I don't see why you _wouldn't _believe me; I was trying to see if he really _did _ruin the paint job…"

Alfred rubs his head gingerly.

"You sure know how to drag someone heavier than you around—_ow_!"

Romano smirks as he sees Alfred rubbing a sore spot on his head.

A _very _sore spot.

Matthew clears his throat, catching their attention.

"I'm not sure that it would have been that big of a deal if the paint job got ruined—"

Alfred laughs at Romano, while Romano gives Alfred a look of disgust.

"—but I agree with Romano on the point that you shouldn't be doing that to scare people Alfred."

Romano smirks at Alfred, while Alfred gives off this 'I don't see why you didn't mention this earlier…' air around him.

Matthew sighs.

"I guess that this means that we're done for today…?"

Romano nods.

"It's about time we head off anyway—Feli's been crying about wanting to see that Potato Bastard—and I want to go eat at that one restaurant."

Matthew looks at Romano in surprise.

"S-So soon? I thought that—"

"I'll see you at the club later on tonight, okay? At least there won't be any _distractions _while Feli shows you what's inside of that black box. You haven't opened it, right?"

Matthew shakes his head.

"Good. Come on Feli, let's get out of here!"

Romano walks inside of the house at a fast pace as he mentions that last comment, leaving the twin brothers outside to talk to.

Which Matthew wasn't willing to talk at the moment.

"What's he talking about?"

Matthew sighs.

"Romano was just going over the details of the bet with me."

Which is true, in some sense.

Alfred furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

"Is that _all _that he was doing Mattie?"

Matthew tries to avoid looking into Alfred's eyes.

"He needed a quick place to let Feli practice his pole dancing—and since I'm not a rude person—I automatically offered to let them use the living room. Only Feli didn't get as much practice time as Romano thought that he would."

Alfred nods, accepting this statement.

Matthew releases a sigh of relief.

At that moment, the Vargas brothers step outside—bags and all—and head for Romano's black Camaro®.

Feliciano runs up to Matthew while Romano is setting down his bags inside of the car.

"Are you going to be working tonight Matthew~?"

Matthew laughs at Feliciano's questioning gaze.

"It just so happens that I am."

Feliciano's eyes sparkle in happiness.

"Yay~! Well, I'll see you later then~! Good bye Matthew~! Bye Alfred~!"

Alfred waves good bye while Matthew receives a hug good bye.

While they wait for the Vargas brothers to leave the drive-way, Alfred was lightly smacking Matthew. Matthew starts to punch Alfred back for each smack.

Before they knew it, the Vargas brothers have already left, and it was soon getting dark.

"Hey Mattie—"

"You can stay for the night Al—it's not as if I'm going to be having anyone over tonight."

Alfred smiles.

"Thanks Mattie."

Matthew scoffs.

"Not the first time you've said that."

Alfred laughs.

"It's not _my _fault that Arthur and France want me to keep an eye on you."

* * *

><p>"Why do you keep calling them by their names?"<p>

Alfred looks up from his plate of hamburgers and fries in front of him.

"Ever since I found out that we were adopted, it seemed kind of natural at the time."

He shrugs.

"It's become a habit now. I could ask you the same about Kumajirou, but it's not the same thing."

Matthew nods his head as he eats a piece of breaded fish with some fried beans, rice, and some deep-fried baby potatoes on the plate.

He only likes to eat pancakes in the daytime, you know.

"It still seems weird that the idea that we're adopted keeps coming back at me."

Alfred—who was eating enthusiastically—automatically sets one of his many hamburgers on top of the others.

"We've been over this before Mattie. We just have to accept that our biological parents didn't want to support us at the time. I'm grateful that they left us at an _orphanage _instead of letting us die out there in the cold!"

Matthew rests his hand on top of Alfred's, squeezing in reassurance.

"At least we weren't separated."

Matthew comments lightly.

Alfred nods his head.

"What are you going to wear tonight Mattie?"

Alfred raises his eyebrows mockingly.

Matthew grimances.

"I have no idea. Romano and Feliciano abducted me to go clothes shopping."

Alfred laughs.

"You're serious? I thought that they were joking about having to drag you out!"

Matthew laughs dryly.

"Did I mention that they sorted through my closet and threw away all of my comfortable clothes?"

Alfred—who was already laughing—busts into a laughing frenzy.

Matthew sits patiently as Alfred releases all of his giddy laughter.

Which lasted around a full half hour.

"Are you done yet?"

Matthew asks with distaste.

Alfred wipes his eyes, low chuckles still erupting throughout his form.

"Al-Almost done!"

Alfred tries to breathe slowly, but upon looking at Matthew's face, starts up again.

Matthew gets up suddenly.

"Since you're obviously not going to listen to me, I might as well find Kumajirou."

Before he was about to leave, he feels a hand wrap around his wrist on his left hand.

He looks over to see Alfred's earlier humor vanish.

"I'm sorry Mattie. It's just that—it was so funny!—and the look on your face—!"

He shakes his head to clear it.

Matthew, sighing, walks back to the table with a stumbling Alfred towing along behind him.

"As you were saying?"

Alfred tries to give Matthew a serious face.

Matthew starts to laugh.

Soon, they're both laughing at the other's expression.

* * *

><p>"You weren't kidding when you said that they thoroughly checked your closet."<p>

Matthew sighs.

"I give up. I can't find anything casual to wear at the club tonight."

Alfred looks around the mess of clothes that Matthew left scattered around the floor and at the foot of his bed.

"…Maybe—gee, _I don't know_—you're _supposed to _wear an outfit that they've picked out for you?"

Matthew—by reflex—automatically throws a shoe at Alfred's face.

Dead center.

"If you're feeling so _high and mighty_, then help me find an outfit that's okay for both my taste and theirs."

Alfred—who was rubbing his face—sticks his tongue out at him, but did as he asked.

After a while, they both decided that Matthew would wear black leather pants (Alfred's choice), a red V-neck and a white short-sleeved jacket (Matthew's choice).

"Damn! You look hawt!"

Matthew throws a CD case at Alfred's face.

"_What_? It's true! You _do _look attractive right now. You must have gotten the sexy swagger from me!"

Alfred was laughing very cockily.

Matthew laughs.

Looking in the mirror, Matthew admits, he _does _make a nice picture.

The very image of a bartender.

Just the way that Romano wanted him to be looking.

Matthew shakes his head.

"Ready to go Al?"

Matthew turns to see Alfred rummaging through one of Matthew's drawers.

"Hey! What are you doing? That's my stuff—!"

"I'm _looking _for something that will look nice on you Mattie!"

Matthew—furrowing his eyebrows—walks over to see what Alfred was desperately looking for.

"Aha! Found it!"

Alfred holds a piece of black ribbon within his hands.

Matthew looks at the ribbon.

Then at Alfred.

Back to the ribbon.

Then at Alfred again.

"Um…am I missing something here?"

Matthew looks at Alfred in confusion.

Alfred smiles at Matthew.

"You're going to wear this in your hair!"

Matthew slowly walks backwards out of the room.

'_If I could just make it out the door…_'

Sadly, he didn't make it that far.

"What the hell are you doing Al?"

Matthew struggles underneath Alfred.

Alfred tries to place the ribbon on top of the rubber band that Matthew was wearing to keep his hair out of his eyes.

When he's managed to get the ribbon on securely (and pulled the rubber band away from Matthew's hair), he stands up, pulling Matthew to his feet as well.

Matthew moves away from Alfred, and walks towards his mirror once more.

Moving his head from side to side, he tries to see where Alfred had left the stupid ribbon.

"Wait…where did this ribbon come from? I'm pretty sure that I've never had a ribbon before…"

Alfred shrugs his shoulders.

"France told me that you would look more approachable if you had a ribbon in your hair."

Matthew looks back at the mirror and sees the ribbon wrapped in a bow where his rubber band would normally be placed.

"Turns out that he was right."

Alfred shakes his head.

"That guy's _too _good sometimes…"

"Where did my rubber band go?"

Alfred blinks before smiling

"I'm not telling you until you promise me that the ribbon will stay in your hair for the _entire _night."

Matthew sighs.

"Fine. I promise that I won't take off the ribbon my hair for the entire night. There. _Now _can I know where my rubber band went?"

Alfred points to his left pants pocket.

Matthew frowns.

"I thought that I was going to get it back Al. I'm not in the mood for games right now."

Alfred's smile gets even bigger.

"It's not in _my _pocket Mattie."

Confusion written all over his face, Matthew puts his hand inside of his right pants pocket.

Low and behold, his rubber band was inside of his pockets.

And he has to keep his promise about the stupid ribbon.

Matthew sighs.

"Are you going to work tonight Al?"

Alfred shakes his head.

"I'm going on a date tonight."

Alfred wiggles his eyebrows.

"It's going to be hawt! Wish me luck Mattie?"

Matthew laughs.

"Only you would say that a date with Ivan is 'hawt'. You don't need luck Al. Not from me, at least."

Alfred pouts.

"But I _need _your blessing! If not, the whole date could get ruined! What if he doesn't propose?"

Alfred gasps dramatically.

"What if he breaks up with me? _Noooooo! _You _have _to wish me good luck! Please?"

Matthew tries to prevent his laughter from erupting at Alfred's display.

"F-F-Fine. I g-g-give you m-my blessing. H-Have a wonderful t-t-time."

Alfred, who was begging on his knees in front of Matthew, gets up quickly and gives Matthew a bear hug.

"Oh thank you Mattie~! You don't know how much that means to me!"

Matthew rolls his eyes as he scoff.

"When you act like this on _every _date, it loses its modesty Al."

Alfred laughs.

"Well if I don't do it, who will?"

"Hm…true…"

Matthew comments.

"Aren't you going to be late for work Mattie?"

Matthew opens his phone to check the time.

His eyes widen in surprise.

"I have to go!"

Matthew leaves his room, with Alfred in tow.

"I'll see you later Al!"

"Bye Mattie!"

Matthew looks back at Alfred.

"You aren't allowed to invite Ivan inside—got that? I don't want to explain to Father and Papa _why_there's a mess in the kitchen _again_."

Alfred laughs nervously.

"I'm not _even _going to let Ivan over. You'd think that I would let him scare the crap outta you? Hell nah! That's _my _job!"

Matthew shakes his head.

It looks like he might want to buy some aspirin soon.

"Would you mind if he stayed for a bit?"

Make that _very _soon.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The song that Feliciano was dancing to - Derezzed [Avicii Remix] by Daft Punk<strong>_


	8. Canorous

_**HAPPY BE-LATED NEW YEAR! *gets ignored by the readers* **__**I know, I know...it's been-what, at least a few weeeks since I posted the last chapter? Not my fault...sort of. Been busy trying to figure out how to move the story along WITHOUT ruining each person's personal drama going on.**_

_**Is it me-or as I keep adding chapters, the longer they turn out to be? -.-;**_

_**Yeah, just thought that I would share that with all of you...Oh! Does anyone have any music suggestions to give? I've been trying to find some techno/ trance music-but, eh. Not working out too well...**_

_**ALSO-the first person to review to me AND tell me how many time skips there are, because there is a shit load, will be written in the next chapter!**_

_**If not, then I'll pick someone from the lots of reveiws I've received already...**_

_**Most of you are probably going to ignore this-so ENJOY!**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Eight – Antonio<strong>_

"…Remind me again: _why_ I agreed to go on a double date with you?"

Feliciano looks over to his left, and sees Romano looking straight ahead.

Since he's driving, he's forced to do so, right?

Feliciano smiles at Romano.

"I got this~! Besides, you already agreed to it. It's not as if we're going to be watching a movie at our house, automatically have an orgy, and then do a pagan sacrifice, right~?"

Romano shakes his head.

"…That's not what your planning, right Feli?"

There is a hint of nervousness in Romano's voice.

Feliciano laughs, shaking his head.

"No, that's crazy talk~!"

Romano scowls.

"_Still_, on a double date with the Potato Bastard!"

Feliciano laughs at the look upon Romano's face.

Sometimes it's just so funny watching Romano trying to be serious while driving.

Feliciano knows that Romano doesn't have to look at the road in order for the brothers to have fun. Even if it means getting pulled over and getting a speeding ticket while Romano argues with the police officer over what should qualify as a speeding ticket and what one would have to do to avoid one. Both the officer and Romano knew that Romano was trying to weasel his way out of the ticket that time. And that's not mentioning on how thickly Romano was flirting with that officer…

Oh, good times.

Good times.

"Just remember this: you'll be having a good time with Antonio, no~?"

Romano blushes.

"As long as I don't have to be forced to talk with that Potato Bastard of yours—it's all good."

Feliciano smiles.

"At least be nice, okay~?"

Romano grunts.

"Only if the Potato Bastard is nice to me first."

Feliciano frowns.

Maybe this wasn't going to be as much fun as he thought…

**x.o.x**

"Please Gilberto! Please, could you do me this one big favor? Please! I will never ask you for this big of a favor again—until the next time that I ask you for another favor! PLEASE? I—!"

Gilbert looks at his drink in front of him, while Antonio continues his begging.

On the floor.

In one of Canorous' tables in the back.

With Kiku giving Antonio a look of distaste.

Gilbert grimances.

"And why should I do that? I don't remember saying that I would help you in _that_ department."

Antonio, who has been begging for the last half hour, gets up from his place on the floor and sits down across the table that Gilbert was currently sitting at.

Gilbird, who was sitting on Gilbert's head throughout the entire time, starts to emit little 'cheep' 'cheep' noises while scrambling around on his head. Gilbert, who was use to Gilbird running around here and there on his head while he ate or drank something, automatically rests Gilbird on the top of his head to make sure that he doesn't start to slip off without Gilbert knowing a single thing.

Just because Gilbird is starting to grow up, doesn't mean that Gilbert likes for him to leave the nest a little earlier than anticipated, alright? Got a problem with it?

Didn't think so…

Kiku walks up to them.

"I am sorry to be bothering you Gilbert and Antonio, but if you have a personal issue to deal with maybe you would like to step into the back where Braginski is and—"

"No thank you~!"

"Why would we want to talk in the back?"

Kiku blinks in surprise as he gets cut off by both responses at the same time.

Gilbert sighs.

"Hey Kiku? You mind if I fill in for 'Tonio later on today?"

Kiku blinks up at Antonio in confusion before nodding his head.

"If this is about filling in for someone—you can decide that among yourselves personally. I do not need to know all of the details."

He sighs.

"I have mentioned this before. I do not like seeing a lot of personal stuff displayed so normally out in the restaurant. It makes it seem as if though we are trying to promote that being provocative—to some extent—is absolutely okay, when it is not welcomed. Obviously it is not okay since this is a _family_ restaurant. And a regular restaurant for the romantics as well. Do I make myself clear this time around you two?"

Gilbert and Antonio nod their heads in understanding.

Kiku huffs indignantly.

"Well then, if you need me, I will be working in my office. Please knock before you enter."

He bows and then makes his way to his office.

The minute that Kiku is out of sight Antonio pounces on Gilbert, startling him. Seeing as Gilbird was fluttering around nervously on his head, Gilbert tries to soothe the bird to sit comfortably on his head once more.

Glaring at Antonio, Gilbert shoves him away.

"I only said that so Kiku won't be on our asses about it later…"

Antonio—who was looking happily in bliss—automatically looks distraught at what Gilbert said.

"Then you won't really help me? I thought that you said that to Kiku to support me! What am I going to do? What if Lovi doesn't want to go after all?"

He gasps.

"What if he calls off the date? Or worse. What if he breaks up with me? Noooooo! That can't happen! Please help me Gilbert—!"

Gilbert gives Antonio a swift upper-cut to shut him up.

He then rubs his temples.

Of all the crap that he has to deal with…it didn't help that his shift started out bad since he and Roderich had both gotten late to work. At least Elizaveth can't bitch at him for not getting a good outfit for later on tonight.

Stupid chit, she ended coming with them on the shopping trip after all!

What was he doing at Starbucks® again?

Something about 'Tonio…

Antonio gets up slowly from the upper-cut and sits back down on the chair he was sitting in before the blow to his jaw.

This hurt like a moe-foe, just to let you know.

"I'm sorry about that Gilberto, I panicked. I don't normally do that. It's just that, I'm worried about my date with Mi Pequeño Tomatito—and you know how I get afterwards."

Antonio gives a weak attempt at a smile.

Gilbert snorts.

"And this has to do with me how…?"

Antonio smiles much more warmly.

"I just wanted to ask you if you could fill-in for me just through the double date that Lovi's brother thought up of. I would forever be in debt to your Awesomeness."

Gilbert grins.

'Tonio's never called Gilbert 'Awesome' unless it's a big deal to him. Which, knowing him, it probably was.

"…Why do I get myself into these types of situations?"

Antonio grins, getting up from his place, and hugs Gilbert enthusiastically.

"I knew that you couldn't refuse a friend in need!"

Gilbert scoffs.

"Yeah, yeah. Just tell me when your supposed 'double date' is and then I could work out the details from there. Just don't try to stay in the restaurant longer than expected—I'm going to be scoring a babe tonight at Franny's club."

Gilbert grins at Antonio.

Antonio releases Gilbert quickly, looking him in the eye with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Didn't Frances say that you were going to meet his hija tonight as well? How are you going to manage through that?"

Gilbert blinks at Antonio's comment.

Well, fuck. He hadn't thought that through.

"Nah! I'll figure something out! You just wait and see! Kesesesesesesesese…"

Antonio gives Gilbert a weird look as he nods his head in agreement with whatever Gilbert thought up of at the moment.

"Whatever you say Gilberto…so you _will_ cover for me?"

Gilbert, who was in a laughing frenzy, smiles at Antonio.

"I said that I would do it right? Of course I am!"

'_Kesesesesesesesese…this is perfect! If I could just get Roderich or Toris to fill-in as waiter for me…yeah that would scream Awesomeness on my part!_'

Antonio just stares as Gilbert continues to laugh maniacally.

'_Sometimes I wonder if he ever listens to what people say to him…Oh well! I get to see my tomatito~!_'

As both go off into their own private thoughts, they fail to notice Matthias trying to send a text message to Felik about what the two members of the Bad Touch Trio were discussing. Before he could even compose a text message, he feels eyes glaring at his back.

Curious to see who was looking at him, he turns and sees Nataliya looking at him.

He shivers in fear.

Nataliya continues to stare at him, even as she moves her way back to the kitchen where Braginski was at, not removing her gaze from his. The moment the doors close between them, Matthias automatically puts his phone back in his pocket. He prays that he didn't just pee in his pants.

'_Ididn'tjustpissmypantsIdidn'tjustpissmypantsIdidn'tjust—_'

He looks down and checks.

"Shit!"

Yep, he did after all.

**x.o.x**

**RING! RING! RING! RING!**

'_Who the hell is calling me at this hour?_'

He thinks as he picks up the phone in irritation.

"Yes?"

"_Allô? Ça va très horrible pour toi, non mon cher_?"

He grits his teeth.

"You know that I cannot possible stand for you to talk to me in _French_ France! What the bloody hell did you call me for? Is it to bug me about who is going to be the DJ again? Because I said that I was covering for Yao today so I don't see what the problem—"

"_Ah bon? Mais, ce n'est pas que je veux parler avec toi._"

Arthur sighs.

"Then _what_ do you want to talk about?"

"_Ah ma lapin~! Guess what?_ _We are going to be having a_—"

**CLICK!**

Arthur humphs.

"That will show that stupid frog to get to the point instead of messing around with people. Now, where did I leave that dress vest…?"

Before he could decide on what to wear later on tonight, he hears his phone.

"_Say what you mean  
>Tell me I'm right<br>And let the sun rain down on me  
>Give me a sign<br>I want to belie-eve_"

Noticing that his phone was getting a text message, Arthur opens it to see that the sender is from France. Big surprise there.

_Que horrible de toi!  
>I just wanted 2 tell u<br>tht its really goin' 2  
>get très interesant<br>cette nuit!  
>Its 'bout les conditions<br>que tu as agreed 2.  
>Souviens-tu, non?<br>Well, tht is all!  
>3<br>- L'amour C'est Mon Nombre_

Arthur sighs and sends a text message back to France.

_What the bloody hell are you talking about?  
>And hasn't anyone told you that you should talk in full sentences?<br>You are honestly going off board with this 'texting' thing.  
>You don't see me doing the same thing back.<em>

_:[_

- _Frog Hater_

Arthur laughs as he tries to picture the look on France's face when he gets that text message.

'_Take that you stupid frog!_'

Arthur stops laughing for a bit.

Now that he thinks about it, France did mention something like that to him. But he was mentioning it when they were in one of their, um, _sessions_.

'_Let me see…he said that if Matthew wanted to have the house that badly…then he would have to do a number of things…something about his closet, the house and the money…hm, I don't remember much else besides Alfred being involve…_'

At that exact moment, Alfred calls Arthur.

**RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! RING!**

"_WHAT?_"

"…_I didn't do anything this time Arthur…so there's no need for you to yell at me at _that_ volume…yesh!_"

Arthur blinks.

"Then what the bloody hell are you doing calling me at this hour? Are you coming home right now?"

He hears Alfred sigh.

"_I'm staying with Matthew right now…he's just preparing dinner right now, so obviously he wants me to help him with it. If I don't help him, I don't get to eat. I just thought that I should call you since you would automatically have an anic apack—panic attack the second you don't see me stepping through the door._"

Arthur furrows his eyebrows.

"Alright then. Are you going to be spending the night over there or something?"

He hears Alfred chuckle nervously.

He narrows his eyes.

"Is there something that I should know about Alfred?"

"_Um…no, no…nothing…er…that is…IhaveareallyhotdatewithIvan._"

"What?"

He hears Alfred heave a huge sigh.

"_I. Have. A. Date. With. _Ivan_._"

Arthur nods slowly, trying to comprehend what he just finished saying.

It wasn't working that well at the moment.

"That…makes…much…more…sense…? Wait—since when are you into the cook for Canorous?"

Alfred laughs nervously.

"…_Um…For a while now? Look, this isn't what I wanted to talk about_—"

"Well, obviously _I_ want to talk about this. Is he treating you harshly? Is that why you didn't want to tell me? Is he threatening you somehow? Because if he is I'll—"

"_Whoa there Arthur! I never said any of that! He's a really nice guy, when you give him the chance to do so. And as to how I got with him—that was by chance as well! Matthew's bartending buddy introduced us. At first I thought that he was a weirdo with how he was staring at me. He thought that I was too annoying to seriously consider being in a real relationship with. We talked. Got to know one another. End of discussion._"

"Well obviously it isn't since you've left around a numerously ton of gaps here and there from your thorough explanation just now. I demand to see you this instant! Matthew's bartending buddy?—That's going to be a discussion for another time—I want you to tell me what exactly—"

"_I'm sorry Iggy! I have to go. Mattie's giving me the 'If you don't come here within the next ten seconds I'm going to burn your food' look. Gotta go! Love ya! BYE!_"

"Wait Alfred—"

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

Arthur sighs.

Too many things going on at one single time.

It's more than he can withstand right now.

He rubs his head.

He _really_ needs a hot bath.

**x.o.x**

"No."

"What? Why not?"

"Because."

"But you said that you would think about it!"

A nod.

"I did say that. I thought about it. The answer's still no."

Gilbert groans.

"I thought that I could count on you to fill-in for me! What am I going to tell 'Tonio _now_?"

Roderich blinks at Gilbert.

They were both currently at the Starbucks® between Cheshire and Excelsior, eating a light lunch since Elizaveth wasn't having any mercy on the two and told them to get their own lunches since they've managed to get Gilbert an outfit within the time span of two hours and she couldn't seem to grasp how they have managed to spend—not three or four—but a total of six hours in a mall that neither seem to like, let alone try to enjoy in the least.

Details, details, as Gilbert would say.

Roderich sighs.

"You know that Elizaveth's still mad at you with that 'drinking' incident that you pulled me into, right?"

Gilbert scoffs.

"Don't start _that_ again! And for the record—how the hell was I supposed to know that she would be able to dupe you _that_ easily? Seriously, you can't keep something a secret from her for more than two hours!"

Roderich shakes his head.

"You don't know the methods she does in order for her to get the information that she obviously would want to know on the spot."

Gilbert snorts at him.

"I've lived with her longer. I _think_ I know when to avoid her 'You better tell me now' look from the 'Don't make me do something to you that you'll regret doing that' look."

They both sigh.

"Look, tell me why you want me to cover for you."

Gilbert focuses on his drink.

"I don't think that I'm allowed to give you details."

Roderich grimances.

"Well, I can't exactly _help you_ if you don't tell me _why_ I'm doing this for you in the first place!"

Gilbert stares for a good while at his smoothie.

He sure loves the Vanilla Bean® flavored ones.

Roderich sighs.

"You know what? Forget it. _Obviously_ you're not willing to talk about it. Fine. I'll see you when I get home."

Before Roderich could get up, he feels something preventing him from fully rising from the chair. He looks and sees that Gilbert got a hold of his wrist. He was trying to twist it in a way that would force Roderich to sit.

"Wait."

Roderich raises an eyebrow at him.

"I'm listening."

Gilbert sighs, rubbing the back of his head, making Gilbird cheep at him angrily.

"Sorry Gilbird."

Gilbert looks at Roderich.

"I need you to cover for me as the host since I'm going to be 'Tonio's waiter for the night—temporarily! And since he's on a double date with his lover's brother—along with the brother's' date—and he doesn't want it to be _that_ awkward, so he asked me to be the waiter. He also said that if I was able to make all four of them feel _really_ welcome, then I would get to keep the tip that they would leave for me. Plus some extra cash would be going to either you or Toris, whichever one of you would say yes if I asked."

Roderich blinks.

"Your friend _really_ wants to make sure that you're there for him huh?"

Gilbert nods, then leans over the top of the table towards Roderich.

Roderich leans against the table, trying to hear Gilbert's whispering words.

"Yeah, but get this: if I help him out—and if you help me as the host—then we might be able to get a certain number of tips that would be in our favor. Get what I'm saying?"

Roderich nods his head, and then furrows his eyebrows.

"But…"

Gilbert groans.

"What now?"

"…What if Elizaveth doesn't go for it? Even _after_ you've mentioned that? And didn't you mention the whole your friend's daughter meeting up with you when she's going to be pointing out who the girl that she wanted you to hook-up with?"

Gilbert scoffs.

"I'll think of something."

Roderich groans.

"No offense Gilbert, but the last time you've managed to say that, it ended up with getting yourself at Elizaveth's mercy, me begging for her to stop with her mind torture, and Elizaveth smiling in absolute bliss at seeing how much pain we were both experiencing at the moment."

He shakes his head.

"I do _not_ want that to be happening a second time around."

Gilbert laughs nervously.

"Hey…don't worry about it. I've got this all planned out…"

"I hope that for your sake—as well as my—that it is…"

Gilbert frowns.

"Always such a party-pooper."

**x.o.x**

"Are you done yet?"

Romano huffs in exasperation.

"We—by that I mean _you_—have been trying out clothes for the past thirty minutes already!"

Romano was currently standing outside of a changing room in Charlotte Rousse®.

While it may be entertaining to watch some fat chick trying on an XXS-sized shirt, and waiting by a selection of belts that some girls try to figure out, he was getting a little bit fed-up with Feliciano claiming to only try on _one_ thing.

"Almost done fratello~!"

Romano sighs.

"Can someone please help this woman? She tried on a shirt that was _way_ smaller than her size—and now she's choking!"

Romano chuckles.

It looks like that stupid woman finally got what she deserved. And honestly? The shade of that shirt _so_ did not go with what her skin complexion is. For sure.

"You done yet?"

A swarm of people were working their way towards the door that lead to the changing rooms, Feliciano's door being the last one on the right.

A shout of 'It's okay now!' could be heard from the far left side of the changing rooms. As relief washes through the crowd trying to cram their way out, Feliciano decides to finally step out of the changing room with the outfit that he wanted to try on within his grasp.

Romano, who got tired of leaning against the wall, automatically follows Feliciano out to the store.

"Did it fit you alright?"

Feliciano nods.

"Although, I was hoping that they would have it in a color that I could wear more than once, you know~?"

Romano scoffs.

"And here I thought that you were convinced on buying that outfit."

Feliciano puts the clothes on a hanger nearby as they exit the store.

"Hey fratello, what was all of that noise about~?"

Romano shakes his head at Feliciano.

"Someone who wasn't smart enough to get a shirt that actually fit them."

"Oh~! Okay then~ Ready to go home~?"

Romano scoffs.

"That's what I wanted to do since you first wanted to try on those stupid pair of leather pants."

Feliciano frowns.

"I thought that if they didn't look go on me, then they would look good on you fratello~"

Romano blinks in surprise.

"You've got to be joking…"

Feliciano shakes his head.

They were already in the parking lot outside of the mall.

"Nope. If I didn't like them, then I thought that you would like them enough to put them on for your date with Antonio~!"

Romano slaps his hand across his face as he sighs.

"And _when_ were you going to tell me this?"

Feliciano thinks about it.

"As soon as I got out of the changing room~!"

Romano lets out a huge sigh.

"What size were they in?"

Feliciano tilts his head to the side, remembering.

"They were a size…5…I think…"

Romano scowls.

"You get to the car."

"Ve~? What are you going to be doing fratello~?"

Romano looks at Feliciano.

"I'm going to go buy me a pair of black leather pants in a size 5."

Feliciano smiles at Romano as he heads back into the mall.

"Don't take too long then~!"

**x.o.x**

"Maybe I shouldn't go."

Feliciano frowns.

They are both sitting on the couch; all of the clothes that Romano has pulled out of his closet are completely covering both the couch and some of the floor.

They have been trying to see what would look good on Romano since Feliciano has already managed to find something really quickly that looks as if he planned this weeks ahead. As for Romano, he's been struggling back and forth, thinking that a certain combination of clothes would look good on him one minute—then assumes that someone else would be wearing the _exact_ same outfit—and he would be on the hunt for another change of clothes and hopes that it would look just as awesome as the first set of clothes.

Not much luck going on with that.

"What are you talking about fratello~?"

Romano shakes his head.

"It's just that—what if I say the wrong thing? What if he's not in the mood for me making a fool out of myself? I don't—"

"What are you talking about fratello? Are you saying that you're nervous?"

Romano flinches, but hides it quickly.

"W-What do you think about this outfit?"

Feliciano, who decides to sit on the floor cross-legged, decides to ignore the new suggestion that Romano has decided to show Feliciano.

Feliciano's frown deepens.

"Fratello, please don't mess around with such an obvious fear."

Romano flinches.

"I never said that I was afraid!"

Feliciano pats the side next to him, signaling to Romano that he doesn't have to fear anything from Feliciano.

Romano sighs before sitting next to Feliciano on the floor, folding himself in the same way that Feliciano was posed.

"I know that I'm being ridiculous, but I can't help it! I'm just worried since this is officially our first date at a fancy restaurant that he reserved for the four of us and—"

"This is your first time at a fancy restaurant? Fratello, why didn't you tell me this sooner~?"

Romano grimances at Feliciano's comment.

"Yes, it is."

Feliciano looks at Romano with wide eyes.

"Then that changes things! I need to call Ludwig and tell him—"

"Tell him what? 'Oh hey Ludwig, do you mind if we cancel our date since fratello needs to go on this with his date alone since this is his first time~?' Don't you know how he'll be laughing at me in mockery? No! I don't want you to call your damn Potato Bastard and tell him all of that! Is that understood?"

Romano is huffing by the time he finishes talking.

Feliciano looks at Romano in confusion.

"I was just going to tell Ludwig that we were going to be a little bit late—but that's a much better idea~!"

Romano frowns.

This wasn't what he expected.

"Never mind with what I just said."

Feliciano, who was dialing Ludwig's number, looks up to see Romano stressed-out.

"I just forgot what I was going to tell Ludwig anyway~"

Romano looks at Feliciano, convinced that Feliciano was going to talk to Ludwig no matter what Romano said.

Guess he was proven wrong.

Romano blushes in embarrassment.

"Just don't leave me struggling there by myself, alright?"

Feliciano smiles at Romano.

"As if I would do that to you fratello~!"

**x.o.x**

"Do you think that maybe they got lost on their way over here?"

Gilbert frowns at the question.

"At what time did you tell them to be here by?"

Antonio thinks about it.

"In another hour or so…"

Gilbert smacks himself on the head.

"So, maybe you should—I dunno—just _calm down_ for a bit while they make their way over here?"

Antonio thinks about it.

He then shakes his head.

"It will just get me wound up even more if I'm waiting. I hope that Lovi found something nice to wear~!"

Gilbert rolls his eyes.

"Whatever 'Tonio. Didn't need to know that."

Antonio sits down on a chair next to Gilbert, sighing.

"I'm sorry Gilberto. I'm just nervous since this is our first official date at a really nice restaurant—"

"Dude, 'first official date'? Are you serious?"

Antonio looks away in embarrassment.

"I couldn't find a much better time that would be perfect for Lovi~!"

Gilbert sighs.

"So what did you tell the dude anyway?"

Antonio blinks before smiling.

"I told him that I reserved the restaurant for the evening~!"

Gilbert looks at Antonio in shock.

Mouth hanging open and everything.

He shakes his head.

"Is that why you told Kiku that you were going to be hosting a birthday party?"

Antonio nods his head.

"So _that's why_ you told Kiku that Roderich and I were okay if we were the only ones working tonight besides Ivan?"

Antonio nods again.

Gilbert scoffs.

"You hearing this Roderich?"

Roderich—who was use to the job of being a part-time waiter, was busy cleaning the table and organizing papers here and there—automatically looks up from where he was working and frowns upon seeing the expression on Gilbert's and Antonio's faces.

"What exactly am I supposed to be hearing Gilbert?"

Gilbert smacks himself on the forehead.

Hard.

He sighs.

"That the reason why you and I are the only ones here—and why Antonio said that it was a birthday party—was because he didn't want Kiku to seem suspicious about his little double date with some brothers!"

Roderich looks at Antonio warily before sighing.

"Do you honestly think that this would work much more better if there was a full staff at Antonio's beckoning? No offense Antonio."

Antonio shrugs.

"I have been told much more offensive things~! No damage done there~"

Gilbert rubs his forehead as his sighs intensify.

"What are the general guidelines that we have to meet? For example: what if you don't tell them—the guests coming over to dine for the evening Antonio—what would be good to eat and they pick something that makes the mood suddenly drop? What if they order something that we haven't thought of and all of us being at the mercy of Ivan showing a flicker of an emotion related to irritation or anger?"

Gilbert and Antonio both shudder under the mental image that Roderich has just finished giving.

"Maybe you're right…"

Antonio looks pensive as he thinks about what the trio of guests would enjoy eating, while Gilbert starts to shift nervously from left to right—anxious of the response that Antonio might give them, and if it will be accurate as he claims it to be.

"Okay…let me see…Lovi likes _anything_ Italian—concerning food and drink, that is…Feli likes pasta and Sangria*****, so obviously that one's easy…Lovi loves tomatoes—as do I~!...Concerning Feli's date…I think he likes…potatoes?...Here, let me ask Lovi to ask Feli about what his date likes to eat~!"

Ignoring the amazed look upon Roderich and a face contorted in laughter upon Gilbert, Antonio saunters off to the side of the restaurant where the bathrooms are at and calls "Lovi".

Gilbert and Roderich look at each other.

"Did you see how 'Tonio's face was as he was thinking that? Hilarious! Kesesesesesesesese…"

Roderich looks at Gilbert stiffly.

Gilbert stops his laugh as soon as he realizes that Roderich _wasn't_ laughing along with him.

Roderich was frowning.

Gilbert frowns along with him.

"Whatever happens, don't let Ivan—"

"—Walk through the doors of the kitchen to the restaurant towards Antonio's table. Because if he somehow does—"

"—He might set the restaurant on fire with his vodka. _Again_."

Both grimance.

"It's agreed upon."

"It's decided then."

Both comment at the same time.

"What's decided?"

Gilbert and Roderich freeze.

Speaking of the bastard.

Roderich tries to cough nonchalantly.

"Hello Ivan. How are you doing so far?"

Ivan, who was glaring at the two in front of him, automatically tries to compose his face back into that familiar child-like amused expression and decides to ignore whatever conversation the two were having. Even though he had a sinking suspicion that he was the subject that the two were conversing in. None the less, it would be best to leave that question alone until the proper moment.

"Da. Hello Roderich, I am fine. Thank you for asking. How are you and Gilbert?"

Gilbert flinches at being directly asked, but Roderich elbows him in the ribs to prevent him from making Ivan suspicious of the duo's behavior. Roderich is going to have to tell Gilbert all of those techniques on how to avoid looking terrified in the face of Ivan. The sooner that Ivan makes his way back to the kitchen, the better.

For _everyone's_ sake.

"Gilbert and I are a tad bit nervous since Antonio is entertaining a swarm of people this evening. That means that only Gilbert and I will be the only ones—besides Antonio—who are going to be coming in and out from the kitchen. That way, you would not end up becoming upset if you see either one of us. Is that understood Ivan?"

Ivan nods enthusiastically.

"Da. Let Roderich, Gilbert and Antonio go through the kitchen without physical harm. Understood."

Both Roderich and Gilbert feel a shiver go through their spines at Ivan's interpretation of "Understood".

"Alright then. Are you going to the kitchen soon Ivan? You wouldn't want Nataliya to stop by and see that you are working on her day off, right?"

Ivan flinches that the mentioning of his younger sister.

"Da. Very soon. Nyet wouldn't want that to happen anytime soon, so I will go now. It was nice talking to you Roderich. Gilbert."

"Before you go Ivan…we were wondering if you could do some shopping for some ingredients. It's mostly because what some people may want to order isn't what we normally serve here."

Ivan thinks about it for a small moment, and then nods.

"Da, I could do that. Any ingredients specifically?"

Roderich writes down a list of ingredients that Gilbert helped with every now and then. And it wasn't because a certain Russian was trying to come closer to Gilbert every time he tried to look over Roderich's shoulder and see what was written. It wasn't freaking him out at all.

Not one bit.

**x.o.x**

"Nervous?"

Gilbert chuckles.

"I'm only nervous when Ivan's involved."

Antonio frowns.

"I think that Gilbert should be somewhat nervous."

Roderich comments lightly.

Gilbert scoffs.

"Maybe I'm just _so_ nervous that I'm not letting you see at all 'Tonio."

Antonio smiles.

"So I'm not the only one?"

Gilbert rolls his eyes.

"Here they come!"

Gilbert goes over to Roderich's side, with an utterly nervous Antonio trailing behind him.

"What are the rules again about being a host?"

Roderich asks Gilbert.

"Just be stiff with manners—you do a good job of that already."

Roderich throws Gilbert a dirty look.

Gilbert returns it back at him.

"Now is not the time to bicker _amigos_—we _all_ need to focus now."

Gilbert and Roderich nod.

At that exact same moment, Gilbert remembers that the waiter doesn't wait beside the host, so he manages to make his way—with obvious effort—to the table that Antonio was going to dine at.

And he waited.

**x.o.x**

"Wow~! What a nice restaurant~!"

"Eh. I've seen better…"

"…it seems a bit too _intimate_ for a double date…"

"…I so want to comment—but I won't."

Ludwig looks at Romano in confusion.

"Don't you think that this restaurant's nice fratello~?"

"I'll be convinced when I've tasted the food…"

"Fratello~"

"Come now Feliciano; let's make our way to the host of this restaurant."

"But what about fratello~?"

"Humph. As if I would let the two of you walk on ahead of me…"

Roderich's right eye twitches as he hears this conversation taking place in front of him. The three people completely ignoring his presence!

"Ahem."

Roderich coughs none too lightly, making Feliciano and Lovino jump in surprise.

"Can I help you?"

Roderich offers kindly.

Feliciano automatically smiles back at Roderich, which catches him by surprise.

'_Is _this_ Antonio's date for the night? If he is, he's very friendly…_'

"We have some dinner reservations under the name of—"

"It's under the name of Antonio Carriedo-Fernandez Feli."

Lovino comments, looking at his surroundings in mild interest.

'_And if Antonio's date is _this_ one, then he has some issues…_'

"That's right~! Thank you for reminding me fratello~!"

Roderich pretends to type in some stuff into the database—"seeing" if the reservation is really there.

He nods his head.

"Please wait while we get our waiter."

Romano mumbles.

"Wait for a waiter? That sounds funny…"

Feliciano smiles back at Roderich.

"Thank you—?"

"My name is Roderich Edelstine. I will be your host for the evening."

Both Feliciano and Romano nod their heads.

"Thank you Roderich~!"

"Thanks Roderich."

Roderich nods at both responses.

"Beilschmidt, you have three guests waiting in the front to be seated."

Ludwig starts at Roderich mentioning his family's last name.

'_No! It's just a mistake! The possibility of this waiter being Gilbert—no. It's _not_ him. It _can't_ be!_'

Gilbert walks up to Romano, Feliciano, and Ludwig. Ignoring the fearful look that passes through Feliciano's eyes as he registers who Gilbert is.

"Say that your name is Gilberto—like how Antonio calls you sometimes!"

Roderich hisses at Gilbert.

Gilbert nods his head a fraction of an inch—letting Roderich know that he understands what he's trying to tell him.

Trouble.

He just doesn't know how _much_ trouble that bothers Roderich to no end.

Gilbert smiles sweetly at Romano and Feliciano, while ignoring the suddenly tense atmosphere emitting from mostly Feliciano.

"Welcome to Canorous. My name is Gilberto. I will be your waiter for this evening. Please follow me."

Romano gets up and follows _Gilberto_ first, followed by Feliciano, and then Ludwig.

Roderich rubs his forehead tiredly.

"I hope that whatever trouble that Gilbert and Elizaveth got them into doesn't involve the rest of us as well…"

**x.o.x**

"Hopefully you enjoy your experience here at Canorous."

Gilbert comments as he seats Romano on one table with his back against a chair that is touching the back of Feliciano's chair.

Gilbert's seen Antonio's infatuation with this dude a couple of times, so he knows who Antonio's date _really_ is and knows how to treat him.

Somewhat.

He doesn't seem to notice Feliciano giving him a nervous glance as he seats Feliciano and Ludwig on a table right next to Romano's.

"Would you care to drink anything specifically?"

Gilbert had to hold in a laugh since he was enjoying being the waiter.

Romano looks at the menu that Gilbert handed them in mock distaste.

"I think that I will have…a Chinotto****** please."

Feliciano and Ludwig look at Romano in surprise.

Holy shit, Romano actually added a 'please' at the end of his sentence…

Ludwig whispers something in Feliciano's ear.

"Ve~ I'll have a sangria—the non-alcoholic one and Lud would have the best imported German beer that you have please~!"

Gilbert nods his head as he writes down what each person wants to drink.

If you're wondering what he scribbled down…

He wrote it like this:

The one that looks high wants a sangria; the one that looks like he got _back_ from his high wants a Chinotto—whatever the hell _that_ was; and the really quiet brunet wants the best beer ever fucking made in the awesomeness of history!

…Let's just say that Gilbert's notes weren't _that_ professional…

"I will have your drinks ready in a bit."

Gilbert walks to the booth where Roderich was, and starts to laugh.

"Dude, who knew that 'Tonio's date's brother was so funny?"

Roderich looks at Gilbert in confusion.

Should he or shouldn't he tell him…?

"Gilbert…?"

Gilbert, who was laughing like a dumbass—which is practically every day according to Roderich—stops abruptly and gives Roderich an easy smile.

"You're right. Instead of being a dumbass and laughing about people, I should be getting their drinks."

Gilbert walks away from Roderich.

He sighs.

He won't tell Gilbert of his suspicion.

**x.o.x**

"Here are your drinks."

Romano humphs.

"Do you know which one's which?"

Gilbert pauses, and then smiles—a bit forced—and remembers what 'Tonio said about Romano's preferred drink.

"Yes, I do."

He maneuvers the tray within his hands, balancing the three drinks on opposite sides, and starts to place the green bottle—sangria, he mentally noted—on the table where Feliciano was sitting at. He places the German beer—Heineken®—right next to the sangria and then places the chinotto in front of Romano.

All the while smirking at Romano's surprised expression.

"Will that be all concerning the drinks?"

Gilbert raises his eyebrow, challenging Romano to comment if there was something wrong with the orders.

Romano humphs.

"Isn't that Tomato Bastard ordering something to drink as well?"

Gilbert smirks at Romano.

"He's busy cooking something for Roderich to snack on since he's been working from the morning shift."

Feliciano looks at Gilbert in surprise.

"That sounds terrible~!"

Romano nods.

"Sucks when you have to work overtime."

Gilbert nods in agreement.

"Was there something on the menu that you would like to eat?"

Gilbert had to hold in a laugh as each person leafed through the menus. Which, considering how things stood in reality, _weren't_ the official menus of the restaurant. Since Roderich argued that it wasn't going to be likely that they were going to actually pick something from the menu of Canorous, the four—even though Ivan only commented once about the drinks being a different color—decided to create a menu that was to the trio's liking.

Gilbert silently snickers as the three decide on what to eat.

"Ve~ I would like a plate of your best Fettuccini Alfredo please~!"

Gilbert, who nods in agreement, panics as he writes down what Feliciano would like to eat.

Romano thinks about something for a minute, shakes his head, and decides to answer Gilbert.

"I would like a plate of patella."

Gilbert writes it down.

"…I would like some breaded fish, rice, baby potatoes, and a small salad on the side."

Gilbert pauses in shock—but quickly writes what the third person said—and tries to go towards the kitchen. Away from the trio—away from Roderich's worried face—away from an anxious Antonio. Only within his own thoughts to assess what the last person has said to him and _how_ his tone said it. Obviously it was a male voice. But it was _whose_ male voice that it belonged to that bothers Gilbert more than to what the person ordered.

He shakes his head to clear it.

Now was not the time to worry about something like that. He has to walk to the kitchen and deliver the order to Ivan, and then he'll be on his way talking to Roderich about what he just recently discovered.

Eventually.

First, he has to make it through the kitchen.

Then he could decide on how to approach properly with the situation at hand.

**x.o.x**

"Ludwig~"

Ludwig looks to see Feliciano stressed out as he whispers to him.

Concerned about what may have stressed Feliciano, he whispers back to him.

"Is there something wrong Feliciano?"

Feliciano casting a quick glance, and seeing that Romano was busy sipping his Bacardi® that he ordered separately with his chinotto every now and then, looks at Ludwig.

"Did you notice that the waiter's name is Beilschmidt, the same as _your_ last name?"

Ludwig furrows his eyebrows in confusion. He assumed the same thing, but shook it off.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence?"

Feliciano shakes his head quickly in denial.

"I can recognize people right off the bat. Even if I don't remember their names or where I've seen them, I still know it's them. This waiter of ours—he looks just like your missing older brother Ludwig."

Ludwig stares at Feliciano in shock. He feels his gut sinking as he realizes that Feliciano is speaking the truth.

"A-Are you positive about that Feliciano? You're not just making that up, right?"

Feliciano gives Ludwig a hard glare.

"I think that I would be able to recognize the person who managed to beat me up, no?"

Ludwig winces at Feliciano's harsh statement.

"I honestly did not expect him to react like that."

Feliciano nods his head. He's heard this apology again. The only one he needs to hear it from is the one who attacked him.

Then and only then would he be able to forgive Ludwig.

**x.o.x**

"Fuck, what the hell am I going to do?"

Antonio and Roderich look at each other before looking back at a ruffled Gilbert. Ever since he managed to get a hold of the two, Gilbert explained the situation to them. At first, Roderich couldn't understand a word that was flowing through Gilbert's mouth, but Antonio told him after Gilbert managed to calm down somewhat. Ivan was watching all of this with amusement as he was keeping an eye on all of the orders that the three outside of the kitchen have ordered.

"Option one: you come clean about your reasons with them."

Gilbert shakes his head.

"It's not that easy Roderich. How the hell can I tell them 'At the time I was a major homophobe and I couldn't stand the thought of my baby brother dating a fruit loop.'?"

"You have to admit, it does scream that he's not sane enough to talk to at the moment."

Antonio comments lightly.

Roderich scowls at him.

"Why do you not just apologize and say that you did not mean to harm the younger brother's lover in the first place and that you saw no other alternative than to escape with a willing passenger?"

The three stare at Ivan for a long period of time, with their mouths hanging open, realizing that Ivan had spoken of an effective solution to the currently awful situation in front of them.

Holy shit.

"Ivan, have you been in a situation similar to this?"

Ivan—noticing that the other occupants inside of the kitchen were focused on him—looks at Roderich and slowly nods his head.

"Da, with _my_ lover—boyfriend."

He shakes his head as he corrects himself.

"It is not _exactly_ the same problem that Gilbert has. For me, it was my _past_ lover that made things difficult between me and my Al before we got to understand one another much more personally."

Antonio and Gilbert nod their heads mutely as Roderich sympathizes with him.

"And that is what you think that Gilbert should do Ivan?"

Ivan nods his head.

"The food is ready Gilbert."

Gilbert—startled by Ivan speaking directly to him—gets a tray and starts to load up the food and the side orders that went with each order.

"Did you make anything Antonio?"

Roderich asks as he sees Antonio loading up a tray with food himself.

"Si~! Although, the catch is that I bring Romano his food to him."

He winks at Roderich.

Gilbert laughs at the two.

"Wait so does that mean that—_I have to apologize right now?_"

Ivan, Roderich, and Antonio all nod at Gilbert's question.

"Well hell."

**x.o.x**

'_I wonder what's taking that Tomato Bastard so long. I mean, he's not even _here_ to talk to! What kind of a fucking date is this?_'

Before Romano could dwell on that thought, he sees Gilbert stepping towards them with a tray filled with food. On closer inspection, Romano could tell that it was Feliciano and that Potato Bastard's orders instead of his.

Romano frowns.

Did they not make his order then?

Deciding if he should complain or not, Romano opens his mouth to at least mention something to _Gilberto_—

When he sees Antonio walking towards him with a tray holding their food, two wine glasses for some wine, and a plate of what looks to be of Brutti ma buoni*******.

Romano blushes.

'_Better late than never._'

Antonio smiles at Romano, as he sets all of the food, drinks, and dessert in place before Romano.

He blushes even more.

'_Say that all of this preparation looks like a lot of work! Say that you're happy that you tagged along! Say thank you!_'

"You took forever getting here you damn Tomato Bastard."

Romano mentally smacks himself. That was _not_ what he meant.

Antonio smiles at Romano, blissfully ignoring the rude comment.

"I'm sorry Lovi. I was busy cooking all of this for the both of us to enjoy. Look, I even made dessert~!"

Romano coughs nervously.

"I already saw that on your way over here, bastard."

Antonio tsk's at Romano as he sits down right next to Romano.

Making him a bit uncomfortable.

"Maybe while you're here, you should refrain from saying such hurtful things Lovi~"

Romano sputters.

"Why should I? It's how I talk anyway, I hardly see what the difference is."

Antonio leans close enough to Romano to whisper against his ear.

"We are in a restaurant that I personally reserved for the four of us. I thought that I was being romantic."

Romano shivers from the close contact.

"It still doesn't explain why I should censor my words."

Antonio leans close enough that Romano can feel his body heat.

"Because I would like to talk to you for one evening without you having to say a rude comment that would make me do something else to you that you would prefer _not_ happen in the restrooms or in front of Feli and his date. Is that too much to ask?"

Romano stopped paying attention to Antonio after the word "restrooms", since he was noticing that Antonio's whispering is making him aroused. And that the only two things preventing him from jumping Antonio at that very moment was the chair that's in between them and Feliciano. It's more like the second 'thing' that's making Romano reconsider behaving.

Romano shakes his head.

"Only if you don't make a stupid enough comment that would have me saying something rude."

Antonio nods his head.

"Fair enough."

**x.o.x**

'_All I have to do is apologize. Right. That's not so hard…I hope._'

Gilbert slaps on a fake smile as he makes his way towards Feliciano and—the now confirmed—Ludwig's table. He could feel his breath leave him as he realizes that Feliciano must have known who he was from the moment that he introduced himself as "_Gilberto_" a little while ago. Guess he must have told Ludwig since he's analyzing anything that might confirm him that he really _is_ Gilbert. As if that wasn't already stressful enough.

Just seeing the fearful but determined set of eyes upon Feliciano's face makes Gilbert feel guilty for having done what he did all of those years ago. That and a feeling of nausea twisting inside of his stomach is a new feeling.

Gilbert finally reaches their table—sensitively aware that the pair behind them was oblivious—and automatically notices that the both of them are giving Gilbert a hard glare. That was the fucking icing on top of the fucking cake. It looks like Gilbert's apology might be on hold for a while—if the sudden glare intensifying gives any indication—that is. Gilbert mentally sighs as he sets the food in front of the respective person.

"We know who you are. We would really like it if you could sit down and talk to us for a while."

Gilbert had to hold in a laugh of hysteria at hearing Feliciano trying to act serious.

It was only Ludwig's glare that held him in place.

And from laughing.

He sighs.

"I have a couple of minutes to spare. I know who you are as well."

Better get this started properly.

* * *

><p><strong>DID YOU KNOW that there was music playing in the background? <strong>

**No? Neither did I XD**

***Sangria: it's sort of like a non-alcoholic drink with carbon in it that bares a taste similar to that of wine. I've tasted one called Señoral Sangria®. It's a Mexican import in the U.S. You could taste it for yourself—if you're curious about the flavor. Or if you just want to taste it for the hell of it. It's a green bottle with a burgundy-black label on it. Honestly not sure what it would be called outside of the U.S. Although I haven't tasted any other Sangria, besides the one mentioned above. I'm not really sure that Feliciano would **_**really**_** drink Sangria, it was just an idea that popped into my head at the moment -.-;**

****Chinotto: a soda drink made from an aromatic citrus fruit called "bergamotto", which grows exclusively in a tiny corner of Calabria.**

*****Brutti ma buoni: it basically means "ugly but tasteful". It looks like a really crappy excuse for a cookie—until you taste it. Its sweet, has hazelnuts & almonds, and you can make a good batch out of the flour that you use. It's really good.**


	9. There She Blows!

**DISCLAIMER: Even though I mentioned this in chapter one, I'll mention it again: I don't own the characters mentioned within **_**A Little Bit Wicked**_** by Victoria Alexander, Junjou Romantica, the music played, nor the mentioning of colleges in here…All I own is the way I manipulate the characters of Hetalia in certain situations and the plotline. That's about it…=. =**

**I'm so sorry that this came out later than to what I would have wanted. I had no inspiration to write this chapter for three weeks (oh the woes of working) and I would just knock out flat as soon as I get home (meaning that I had no time to write). When inspiration suddenly hits me, the tower for my computer (the "hard drive" as my cousin likes to call it) decides to be all like "Bitch please! I'm going to like make you suffer for another two weeks until you find something better!" That's how long it took me to find a new tower that I could feel comfortable with, so I had to deal with a corrupt tower along with it fucking around with my file that had this chapter. **

**When I saved it onto my flash drive (since I got in the habit of saving it on there), it wouldn't let me edit it—let alone open it. I basically had a "How the fuck am I going to update this chapter?" moment. I had to buy a new flash drive since I found out that my old tower had a virus that attached itself onto my flash drive, corrupting all of my fucking files on there and I had to re-type this chapter up. TT^TT**

**I would just like to honestly thank **_**lightwolfheart**_** and **_**Antonio Carriedo**_** for reviewing in the last chapter (and on telling me how many time skips there were). Sadly, only one of you is mentioned within this chapter—briefly—but don't fret! I already have you involved in some funny stuff in the next chapter (that I am currently typing as we speak), so don't think that I only did that to spite the both of you…-x-;**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Nine – Ludwig<strong>_

"No!"

Huffing.

"Come on, you _know_ you want it. _Everybody_ wants it from _you_ especially. Wouldn't want your fans to become disappointed, right?"

He thrusts his hips towards another pair in front of him.

He hears him grunt—trying to ignore his advances up to this point. He chuckles lowly.

He always did love a good challenge.

Especially if the challenge is starting to put up a fight within the first ten seconds of even talking to him about meeting him in the back alleyway in a couple of minutes, that is.

"Stop this! I never said that I was interested in you! Let me go this—!"

He kisses those resistant puckered lips in front of him.

Oh, how he missed doing _anything_ sexual with someone for so long.

Even though it's been two weeks, he misses doing these kinds of things with his Aussie.

He frowns.

It was because of that _slutty_ Aussie that he was in this situation—in it with _him_ as his partner.

He shakes his head.

No.

Now was _not_ the time to go down Memory Lane since he needs to pay attention to what's in front of him.

He focuses his attention back on the person within his arms.

Yes, he enjoys that thought very much.

"Are you willing to tell me how much I have to pay in order for you to sleep with me?"

He sees the other person shaking their head furiously.

He frowns.

That wasn't the reaction that he was hoping would come out of him.

"I'd rather let you _rape me_ instead of being _paid_ by _you_!"

He spits out the words at Adnan.

That's right.

Sadik Adnan.

The other pole dancer there besides Feliciano—when he wasn't working at À Deux, that is.

He shivers as he wonders how long the both of them have been standing out the side door of the club—away from public view besides the alleyway.

He hopes that Yao will come around the corner—since Ludwig has _yet_ to show his sexy ass up—and save him from Adnan's slimy hold on him. Which he was _really_ starting to get nauseates at—if Adnan's firm hold on him is any indication.

He still wonders how Adnan's relationship with that Aussie could have gone for a turn of the worst. He's seen them—first hand too!—and he can't understand how a relationship that looked so promising could end up in ruin, shattered pieces for Adnan. He was willing to make the relationship work—which was a first for Felik to witness considering since that was Adnan's first _serious_ relationship at all—and now it look like he's going to get punished _because_ of his witnessing.

Adnan gives him a creepy smile, making Felik's already climbing heartbeat speed up even more in fear of what the meaning behind that smile is.

Felik feels goose bumps running up and down his spine as he gets a hunch at what Adnan plans on doing to him.

"Is that so?"

He gives Felik a rough shake forcing him to hit the back of his head against the wall hard enough for Felik to feel something starting to seep down, making him realize it was blood that was seeping down from the right side of his head to his neck.

Felik looks at Adnan in horror.

Maybe he won't be able to live through this unharmed as he first thought he was going to be after all.

He automatically starts to make a mental list of all the people that he cares about or of the bad arguments that he has had with—his family, friends, _fuck_ even with his_ boyfriend_—as he starts to whimper and tries to pry Adnan's hands off of his neck where they were from the start of this little episode. Not to mention that he was starting to feel some sort of a bruise forming from the tight grip that Adnan has managed to have held on to.

"And here I was willing to _pay you_ for your _services_. You know, _before_ you started to work at the club?"

He forces Felik to nod.

'_If I'm not like traumatized enough with what Adnan's like about to like do—I'll fucking kill myself. No matter what Toris or like anybody else says!_'

Feliks thinks as he notices Adnan's hand trailing down from his bruising neck and starts to caress his collarbone.

Both notice that even though the side door has been left slightly ajar—mostly because Felik has been fighting tooth and nail to _not_ be shoved against the wall—they could hear the sound of music being played floating towards them.

Mostly signaling to Adnan that he better show up from whatever he's doing and get back to work.

Or else.

"_There's a place downtown  
>Where the freaks all come around<br>It's a hole in the wall  
>It's a dirty free for all<em>

"_When the dark of the night  
>Comes around, that's the time<br>That the animal comes alive  
>Looking for something wild<em>

"_And now we're lookin' like pimps  
>In my gold Trans-Am<br>Got a water bottle full of whiskey in my handbag  
>Got my drunk text on<br>I'll regret it in the mornin'  
>But tonight I don't give a<br>I don't give a  
>I don't give a<em>"

Felik slumps his head in defeat as he realizes which song that was.

He _knows_ how those kinds of songs affect Adnan.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one…

'_You just _hadto_ like play that! Of all the like fucking songs that you could like choose in like the meantime, you like picked _that_ one! Stupid Arthur and like all of his shitty-ass song choices!_'

Adnan looks at Felik in the eye—his dull green-brown eyes slowly growing in lust.

"You know why I'm acting like this, don't you Felik?"

He murmurs huskily as he rubs his face against the crook of Felik's neck gently, smelling his scent as he does so.

Felik gulps, hoping that Adnan won't mistake his rapidly beating heart for growing lust instead of pure fear.

"I-I don't see wh-why _I _have to b-be the one you come to. Besides, I _never_ agreed to this!"

Adnan focuses his attention at those petrified light blue eyes.

He shakes his head.

No.

Light blue eyes belonged to that damn two-timing Aussie _not_ to this incredibly sensuous person in front of him within his arms.

_Those_ eyes were nice—a neon green that could pull him in, captivate, make him want to see what color they would turn if he managed to stimulate the male in front of him good enough to have him screaming his name out in pleasure. Make him strive to become a better person that he could be proud of, to always make him say the truth and tell everyone else to fuck off if he wasn't already honest enough to begin with. He would always try to be there to comfort him, tell him to always look at the bright side of his decisions along with the bad—not just the bad ones all by themselves. That and never even dare try to make him remember that slut who broke his heart.

Was it just Felik like hallucinating shit again—or was like Adnan's grip on him starting to like go limp?

Felik shakes his head—since the amount of blood that he was starting to lose was making his eye sight weaken—as his vision sharpens and looks at the arms extended in front of him.

He fails to notice that the Turk placed his hands on either side of his face against the wall with his head slumps down in even more defeat than to what Felik showed earlier—and also noting that if he tries to escape at that very moment—he really would most likely get raped. And it wouldn't matter if Felik tries to sweet talk his way out of it or not this time around. There would have to be a price paid.

Felik was pretty sure that he didn't want to become the one forced on paying it.

So he decided to play it by ear and see how it goes from there. Hoping that when he sees a chance to run—he'll run like the little pansy fairy that he is!—he'll fuckin' run like there's no tomorrow!

"Why is it when I decide to commit myself into a serious relationship, _I_ get hurt badly or it wasn't that serious in the first place?"

Adnan lowly murmurs, making Felik lean his head to the right to catch what he's talking about, and starts to silently weep.

Felik, at a loss for words, mentions the first thing that pops inside of that pretty little blond head of his.

"Did you ever think…?"

Felik starts to mention innocently, making Adnan snap out of his reeve and focus on what Felik was trying to say.

"…that maybe you should like—I don't know—have had checked if the person that you wanted to get into a relationship with was the type to cheat?"

Felik cringes, expecting for Adnan to become upset with him and punish him for speaking to him in a way that makes him angry.

Adnan looks at Felik in amazement that he only used the word 'like' once—and noticing that he was cringing as well—and starts to see that Felik has a point. He should have known that the Aussie was the type to cheat, let alone be the type to deny that anything of the sort was going on.

Adnan starts to feel guilty about his actions—before and after he got together with the Aussie—and feels even more so seeing how he hasn't spoken to what Felik asked him, who was still shaking with nerves coursing in and throughout his body. He starts to feel sick with how he has been going about with his methods, just to get what he thought would have had been the start of a better working relationship, and then realize that it has to be with someone who _isn't_ in a relationship with another person at the moment. It has to be with a person who is single and is willing to be committed. The type who won't go cheating behind your back and lie about it. Even if he has a lot of clues leading up to the cheating and that person still denies it.

Noticing that Adnan wasn't going to be talking soon, Felik tries to think about what to say.

"O-Or I could just be saying from my past experiences. Everyone has their own experiences and I shouldn't be one to judge. If you haven't experienced that, then you should ignore what I said about that right now. If you have though, third time's the charm, right?"

Adnan starts to laugh at Felik's display at trying to lessen the shockingly awkward atmosphere between the two.

Who knew that Felik could be cute when you gave him the chance to be?

"Do not worry about me causing harm to you. I have realized what my actions have caused concerning the Aussie—Steven."

Before Felik could comment, they both hear two girls giggling about some new romance novel that one of the two just recently bought. Something about how this British lady was a scandal and that the Viscount should stay clear of her or something. Something about how normal British people lead _very_ interesting lives when no one's paying attention that is, or some bullshit like that.

"Well _I_ think that Lady Judith _shouldn't_ be with Viscount Gideon because obviously she wants to stay friends with him and he doesn't. Also, because I think that she has this thing for one of her _bosom_ buddies, no?"

Lenny snorts at Kate's biased comment, making Kate slip the finger in her general direction.

"Well, why _shouldn't_ she have a thing for one of her friends? They kept that on the low-key back then, as well as for the men, you know? I don't think that it's fair to keep a relationship like that a secret. Let alone deny that they want one another so much."

"You know what I think? _I_ think that we should meet up with Lorelei at À Deux before she starts claiming that I was letting you see Michelle again—without my consent, mind you—and starts to lecture the both of us as to why we should tell her where we're heading off to."

"It's not _my _fault that a certain somebody wanted to see her 'Hatori-kun' oh so fuckin' much! Like seriously, I am sooo glad that I play for the other team. Guys just don't have that same sexually erotic appeal that girls do most of the time. And the way that they fuckin' move their—"

"Let's see if she's here already!"

Lenny rushes in quickly, interrupting whatever Kate was about to say, knowing that Kate hit a nerve when she saw that Lenny was blushing in embarrassment. And as to where that statement was about to head off towards.

"I think that we should head in the club now, no? Wouldn't want you to miss out on the chance to hook-up with that one Vietnamese chick that we've seen hanging around for a while now, right?"

Lenny laughs at Kate's hungry expression when she mentioned the Vietnamese. Kate bobs her head in agreement to the curly haired brunette to her left. The girls make their way to the side entrance of the club, ignoring the poorly made intimate display in front of the two, making sure that the door stays the same way that it was when they saw it.

"Hey, did you see those two guys hitting it off? It looks like something from that one manga that I really wanted to buy!"

"Lenny, how many times have I fuckin' told you? I've told you that you've read that manga online thousands of times already! Why don't you try reading that one manga where this dude's older brother's friend ends up having a thing for him? What was the name of that one again? Junjou—?"

The voices from the girls fade away, leaving a panting Felik and a semi-aroused Adnan standing there in the alleyway. Adnan releases his hold on Felik, stepping backwards slowly, watching his every reaction as he does so.

Adnan sighs, noticing that Felik hasn't moved from his spot on the wall. He walks up to Felik, making sure that Felik notices what he is doing throughout the entire time, until he is within two inches from his face. Felik, who has had his eyes closed throughout the whole scene with the two girls walking by and almost completely ignoring them, slowly opening his eyes to see that Adnan has moved closer than to what he saw of his face before he closed them. Confusion written all over his face, Felik turns his head to the side, making Adnan back-up a couple of steps.

Enough space for Felik to run away if he wanted to. But he didn't, which is what's confusing him at the moment. Adnan looks at Felik warily while Felik just stares at him without commenting about anything. It makes Adnan sigh in defeat.

"Look I—"

"I'm really sorry!"

Both stare at each other, trying to understand what the other person said. Adnan, who has already retraced his steps, starts to walk two steps towards Felik very slowly. Felik, who was trying to think of what else he could apologize for, automatically flinches at seeing Adnan starting to come into close contact with the space bubble that he has managed to create for himself since he started to work at the club. That Adnan has completely ignored as he nears a few more inches before he comes to a secure stop in front of him.

Adnan looks at Felik in surprise at how he was acting towards him, then mentally chaises himself and knows that it was because of how rough he was coming on to Felik, making act like that in the first place. Felik slowly starts to press himself against the wall—expecting Adnan at any moment to attack him—not noticing the way that Adnan jerked in a motion that one could automatically call as guilt.

Adnan shakes his head, realizing how Felik was trying to shut off his mind with thoughts and leave his body detached. Almost as if he was—acting as if he was the lowly paid slut that he was making him out to be not that long ago. He feels his stomach twist as he understood the way that Felik's was moving his body. He needed to think of something before Felik goes to the point where people would be afraid to venture off to—realizing what the consequence would end up being, that is.

"It's not awkward until it's interesting."

Felik jolts out of his train of thought that he put himself in as he realizes that Adnan has spoken just now. He shakes his head, making sure to shake hard enough to forget that place that he was recently—including that one fairy that looks sort of just like Toris—as he tries to remember what Sadik had said to get him out of that train of thought.

He could only think of one thing to say though.

"What?"

Original, right?

Adnan releases a laugh that makes Felik's confusion even more pronounced.

Translation?

Felik is even more fuckin' confused than when he was pushed against the wall. At least he could be able to tell what they were going to be doing when Adnan was talking to him dirty. But this, this randomness is too much to take in—even though Adnan is still aroused from earlier. Shaking his head from side to side, he notices Adnan watching him like a hawk—making sure that he doesn't abandon his body again. He flinches.

Adnan sighs, after seeing Felik flinch.

Again.

"I said: it's not awkward until it's interesting. Why, does that strike you as a weird comment to mention out of nowhere?"

Felik snorts.

"I like dunno maybe it's because you like almost like_ raped me _right now and then like suddenly stopped in mid-rape?"

Adnan could hear the sarcasm from where he's standing at. Ignoring the look of distaste on Felik's face, Adnan lets his hand rest on Felik's shoulder and pushes down against it.

"I understand that I have stepped out of line with how my behavior has been recently—but it's only because I've had some personal issues aside from the Aussie that has managed to make me snap."

He sighs, releasing Felik's shoulder in the process and not left unnoticed by Felik.

"I know that I am the least favorite person that you would like to speak with at the moment; I just assumed that you would be able to help me out with my _problem_. Obviously, that wasn't the most appropriate approach to go by."

Felik snorts in agreement to Adnan's statement, making sure that he understands that Felik is willing to listen to what he says and see if he could help the poor bastard in some way.

He tries to hold back a shudder as he grimances.

_Not_ involving anything sexual.

"Obviously that wasn't like what was like happening here, huh?"

Adnan shakes his head.

"I did not mean to have gone that extreme, but with how you were struggling, it was what made me spurred on by getting you out here that much faster."

Felik looks at Adnan in amazement.

"Oh _hell nah_! You like did _sooo not_ just like blame this on me right now!"

Adnan looks at Felik in a chiding manner.

"Then how would you like to explain what happened exactly ten minutes ago?"

"…"

"That's what I thought…"

Felik, ignoring the embarrassing blush that was spreading across his cheeks, walks past Adnan.

"Whatever. I have to like get back to work or else I'm gonna like have to talk to Romano why I wasn't like at my post. _One of us_ has to be like back anyway."

"Felik…"

Felik stops walking, looking back at Adnan, noticing that he looked reluctant to have even uttered his name.

"Look…"

Adnan looks at Felik, who was already a good two steps away from the door.

Felik looks off to the side, making Adnan notice that what Felik was about to say was going to be awkward.

"I won't mention this to anyone…so; you don't have to worry about me having a word with Arthur or François—just so long as you don't like mention this to anyone about my past—!"

Adnan holds up his hand, silencing Felik's rant in mid-pause.

"There's nothing to mention as long as there's no drama, right?"

Felik nods his head in agreement, relieved that Adnan caught on quickly.

"Good…I just have one more question to ask of you, and then you could go back in."

Felik, who was breathing a sigh of relief, looks at Adnan as he's up against the wall in contemplation.

"If it's anything about how I ended up like how I am now—"

"How long have you known that one person with the dark brown hair, olive green eyes, and mocha-colored skin?"

Felik blinks at Adnan.

"Say _what_…?"

Adnan blushes, trying to cover his embarrassment with a cough, making Felik notice that he was trying to act nonchalant about the question.

"Don't tell me—you're interested in _Guppie-chan_?"

"I-Is that his name?"

He looks at Adnan.

At his intensified blush, Felik squeals.

"So you do, huh? Do you want me to like hook you guys up? Of course you do! Now, were should I like set you guys up? How about that like one table where YongSoo likes to frequent a lot in the club, where that one like lets you see on the dance floor and where you can like easily get up to go to the bathroom and get some drinks at, while it's like dark enough for the two of you to be like flirting and to not be interrupted by anyone like passing by? Or maybe like—?"

"Y-You're not surprised by t-this then?"

"_Whaaat?_"

Felik looks at Adnan in amusement.

"Why would I be? _Obviously_ Guppie-chan's had like a thing for you for like a while now—so it was only a matter of time before we like found out how you like felt about him—and to know that you like harbor the same feelings for like a while now! Oh like what a fun time this will be! I wonder what he's like wearing tonight... Maybe I should call him up and like ask—?"

He feels Adnan place two hands on either side of his shoulders, making Felik pause in calling Gupta. He smiles at Adnan.

"Am I getting ahead of myself?"

Adnan furiously nods his head in agreement.

"It's too much too fast at the moment."

Felik sighs in disappointment.

Er, dramatically, actually.

At least that's what it looked like in Adnan's opinion.

"And here I like thought that you wanted to like get on the "single-but-interested" bus ride already…"

He murmurs.

"So what do I have to do now?"

Adnan asks, not noticing what Felik muttered.

He looks at Adnan with a smirk.

"We like go in there, and I'll like show you that like by the end of the night, you'll be like leaving with Guppie-chan—or at least to have like a date with him."

Adnan looks at Felik in amazement.

"Shouldn't I get to know him at least?"

Felik's smirk widens.

"I already like know enough to have the two of you like this—" he shows Adnan two of his fingers intertwined closely together "—for the two of you to like get to know one another by like the end of the night. That's like my _real_ goal for tonight. Understand?"

Adnan pretends to sigh in defeat, but Felik could tell that he was excited.

"Well, fuck. Might as well freshen up a bit, right?"

Adnan gives Felik a nervously excited smile.

Felik gives Adnan a reassuring smile, making sure to pat him on the shoulder.

"Like hell yeah!"

And freshen up he will.

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"…I always labeled you as "Luddy's-jerky-older-brother", but I thought that I was being inconsiderate and that you probably had your reasons as to why—"

"Feli—"

"—but after hearing Luddy's theories—er, views on how you really are—it made me think that you just wanted to hit me so that you could make Luddy feel as if it was my fault that he happened to have turned _gay_—"

At this word, both Beilschmidt brothers flinch at how harsh the word sounds coming from Feliciano's mouth, making them have a fresh stab of guilt.

It also didn't help that they managed to drag the table where Ludwig and Feliciano were around five feet away from the table where 'Tonio and Romano were seated at, talking in a loud voice, and not noting that the couple behind them look at them was slowly making their way to the bathroom in loud voices.

"—it only ended up hurting my self-esteem. I mean, I didn't have much to boost it—what with Lovi always pushing and pulling 'Tonio back and forth; our parents' funerals two months from each other; me just recently finding out that I preferred guys instead of girls—when I met Ludwig, I thought 'Hey, this could be the one person who could help me be who I am. He probably has a good family that supports him on being homosexual as well.' It wasn't until I noticed that you didn't agree with what was going on, did I realize that Luddy didn't tell you at all."

He pauses, letting the words that he uttered sink in to the one person that they were meant to be said towards.

"But then I thought about how you didn't give us a chance to talk to you. You left so quickly that it made your parents reconsider if maybe sending you to boot camp every summer was a good idea since you and your friend had enough supplies to last you a good year while the both of you were on the run. Ludwig would always say that it was his fault—that he should have mentioned something to you before-hand—that he should have given you little hints here and there so that you wouldn't have had been as shocked as you were at that moment.

"I honestly never wanted to cause any harm to anyone—but after seeing how much hatred you had towards me—I started to think that maybe you wanted me to die in the deepest part of the Atlantic Abyss and not have me bothering to waste your time on trying to see a 'dysfunctional relationship' working."

By this point, Gilbert had his face in his hands hunched over; Ludwig trying to comfort Feliciano by pulling him into a hug; and Feliciano looking at Gilbert with an impassive look on his face throughout the entire time they have started to talk to him.

"How many times I've wanted to say 'sorry' to your face, but never getting the courage to call Ludwig on the phone—or go to our parents' house and apologize face to face for all the harm that I've caused you—or tried to make it up to you by sending some of your favorite pasta—"

His breathing hitches up, trying to keep down the urge to cry with choking sobs—not noticing that Feliciano kissed Ludwig and murmured a quick "He gets it now"—before he gets engulfed by Ludwig's and Feliciano's arms around his head and torso.

He pauses in his ranting to look up at the two, making it obvious that he _was_ sobbing very manly tears (awesome manly tears, he mentally added), releasing a shaky sigh of relief at being forgiven by the one person that he needed to hear that from the most.

"I think that you went overboard with getting your revenge Feli."

Ludwig comments carefully, checking to make sure that he has a secure grip on Gilbert—in case he tries to do anything suspicious—towards Feli if he's not paying attention, that is.

"I totally deserved it though, so I can see how Feliciano wanted this revenge to be timed."

Gilbert says, making sure that his breathing has come back to normal, patting Ludwig's arms with his hands and silently telling him 'It's okay now'.

Feliciano nods in agreement.

"I had to think for some time on what type of revenge would get you to understand that you were acting irrational—running away—and not letting us explain not even once about what everyone else thought."

Gilbert sighs, slowly prying Feliciano's arms away from his torso, before he stands up and starts pacing back and forth from the table.

"I didn't think that I would end up running away with Elizaveth, but after she got rejected one too many times by her father what was I supposed to do say 'Hey thing's will get better!' and hope that her father didn't push her over the edge again? No, I had to promise her something that could give her a sturdy ground that won't crumble in front of her feet.

"That's really the only reason why I ended up 'snapping' on all of you at the time. It was to give Elizaveth the edge that she needed to get away from the house of crazies that she was living with—which, might I add, make Elizaveth look like she's the sane one in that house—and since I was the only one who had boot camp, saw me as the only person that she could trust in going 'out in the woods' with."

Ludwig nods.

"That makes more sense since Anastasia, Edward, and Annabelle were calling the F.B.I. and the S.W.A.T. team to search for Elizaveth."

Gilbert shudders, recalling how much trouble him and Elizaveth have managed to have done—especially about how no one slept the first week since her parents were looking everywhere for their 'lost' child.

"Hey Gilbert~"

Gilbert looks over at Feliciano in confusion.

"Do you know where fratello and Antonio have gone to~?"

Both Ludwig and Gilbert blush—making Feliciano bob his head to the side—since they knew where his 'fratello' went.

"Er…Feli—"

"They went outside to get some fresh air! Isn't that right Lutz?"

Gilbert says, cutting off on what Ludwig would tell Feliciano.

Ludwig, looking at Gilbert with an eyebrow raised, agrees.

"Ja, Antonio noticed how flustered Lovino was looking, so he took him outside while you were talking. I tried to tell you but—"

_You were still talking to Gilbert about what he did…_

Feliciano smiles, understanding what Ludwig meant about the 'but' part hanging in the air.

"We should really finish our food, right Gilbert~?"

Gilbert nods.

"Wouldn't want _Vanya's_ hard work go to waste."

Feliciano perks up.

"You mean to say that a _woman_ cooked us all of our meals~?"

Ludwig notices Gilbert go pale at the mention of 'Vanya' being referred as a woman.

"Uh…let's just say that Vanya _isn't_ a woman, okay Feliciano?"

Feliciano nods in agreement quickly.

"I wonder what's taking fratello so long~?"

Gilbert had to hold in a laugh.

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"I thought that I told you that if you said _anything_ stupid, you weren't going to get me to behave properly!"

"Aww, what's wrong Lovi~? I thought that you said that it was okay to do this~?"

"Yeah, but not with the whole fucking part where you—_shiiiiiiiiiit_ Antonio that fucking hurts!"

"Si mi querido. Yo se, yo se."

Lovino tries to hold back the tears and sobs that want to be released.

"D-Don't _do_ that!"

"¿Porque no?"

"You know I _hate it_ when you talk in fuckin' Spanish!"

"But mi Lovinito loves it when I talk to him en Español~!"

Lovino sighs, having already given up trying on getting away and just letting those fingers go back to what they were doing.

Almost.

"_OUCH!_"

"¡Ah perdon Lovi! It's just that—"

"I thought t-that you—_h-hah!_—said that you were going to be—_n-ngh!_—fucking gentle with m-me!"

"I'm trying to be! Just let me finish doing this and then I could get you back up!"

"No! You've already done enough damage to it!"

"¿_Yo_ te hise daño? You were the one who thought that you could do it yourself! Si sabia que tu hibas a ser esto—"

"Don't act as if you were right this entire time!"

"Lovi, si no paras ahorita, I'm going to hurt you."

"Like hell I'm gonna stop now! Move already!"

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

Roderich tries to hold back from running back the direction he came from, not sure if what he's hearing is what really is going on inside.

Sure, he decided to take a break since Gilbert has yet to come back into the kitchen, but then he found out that Gilbert made him drink that Big Gulp® filled to the brim with lemonade, claiming that "Only the most awesomest of men can chug it down without acting all high and mighty about what a waste of time", looking at Roderich the entire time he was saying that. Almost daring Roderich to say it (in that prissy way that he says most stuff) so that Gilbert was right so that he could have another chance to call him a "Baby girl man boy" again.

'_Mein Gott how I regret that…_' Roderich thought, trying to not appear as if he's on the verge of exploding if he doesn't make it to the restroom in time.

Before he could push open the door and take a leak, he hears a shove against the door, and the next thing he knows he ends up hearing Lovino and Antonio in the restroom doing certain things that make one wonder. Or not.

Not one to dwell on that, Roderich spins on his heel and walks back into the way back of the kitchen. Where there are restrooms for the employees who can't stand to be going at the same place as the customers. Or at least, that's the argument that Nataliya gives Kiku.

After coming from the restroom, Roderich decides to look for Ivan—since he is the only available apart from Roderich himself—who could hold on to a good conversation just as good as him.

That and Roderich is curious as to what Ivan was to Gilbert.

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"—_dering if you were going to come home late just like yesterday since you are trying to avoid seeing Nataliya again…?_"

"Da, but it's only because Antonio is having a double date with his boyfriend's brother." (^.^)

"_Is that so? I thought that they said it was going to be a little kid's party—you know how I enjoy helping when it's those kinds of parties!_" (:o)

"Da, it really is hilarious watching everyone here believe that I'm some imbecile that doesn't know how to take hints…" (^.^)

"_You know I don't like it when they harass you like that—it's just not right! And here I thought that they were all past that phase to think that you could beat them up…_"

"You know that I only add on to their views, right?"

"…_that does not make it right. You _know_ that. I don't understand why you don't let them see this side of you! I think that _everyone_ will feel less tense if they see that you are capable of coherent thought, think quickly, and show that you can comprehend what they imply…_"

"Um…I may have done something like that today…" (^.^;)

"_I wish that you would prove to them that you—what? That's great! What did you do? What did you say? Where they impressed? Did you manage to make some friends—?_" (:D)

"They looked as if I was in on their little game…they had this look of complete and absolute horror written upon their faces…" (^.^)

"_Oh, that sounds _terrible_, how could they? That's not right! Do you want me to do something about that? Do you want me to talk to Kiku about this? Or maybe Natali—_?"

"Is Nataliya there with you at the moment?"

"_Hm? Yes, did you want to talk to her…?_" ('.')?

"NO! I-It's just that, you know that she freaks me out, right?"

"_Vanya, I _know_. She only did that because cares about you a lot and didn't want to see you getting hurt by—_" (:/)

"Da, but that's not what we were talking about, right?"

"_Da, but you could at least be _somewhat _thankful that she took him off of your hands…_" (=.=)

"Literally." (=.=;)

"_Is it still that much of a shocker for you?_"

"…you knew how much. And yet, in the end to see that he chose Nataliya over me—"

"_I know Vanya, I know. I just wished that he didn't do that._"(;—;)

"Da, but if he didn't go to her, then I wouldn't have met Alfred…" (^/^)

"_This reminds me! Are you going over to his place after you're done over there at Canorous?_"

"Ahahaha, well I don't know about that—hey, I think I'm getting a text from him."

"_Ah! Okay then! Call me if you need anything, alright?_"

"Da, I will call you. Thank you Katyusha." (^.^)

"_No problem sweetie! Just make sure to use protection, okay?_" (^.^)

"…I really wish you didn't have to say that to me…" (=.=;;)

"_Ahahaha, if I don't then who will remind you?_" (:D)

"I think that Bella, Elizaveth, and Michelle are starting to have an effect on you…" (-.-;)

"_Don't be silly! I just don't want my little brother getting something—or his boyfriend for that matter._"

"Hm…if you are sure…" (=.=)

"_Of course I'm sure! Why wouldn't I? You would know if I was lying to you._"

"Okay then…" (=.=)

"_Bye! And good luck!_"

"Da, the same goes to you. Don't let Nataliya go home drunk."

"_As if she's going to down that much vodka in one go and threaten Edward to start molesting Raivis._"

"You'd be surprised by the stuff that she does…".

"_O-kay…?_"

"Bye." (=.=)

"_Bye sweetie!_"

**CLICK!**

Ivan sighs, attempting to put his phone on vibrate.

But before he could so much as open his phone, he hears the ringtone that he put for a certain blond play.

"_But if I had you,  
>That would be the only thing I'd ever need<br>Yeah if I had you,  
>Then money, fame and fortune never could compete<br>If I had you,  
>Life would be a party, it'd be ecstasy<br>Yeah, if I had you  
>You y-y-y-y-you y-y-y-y-y-you y-y-y-y-y-you<br>If I had—_"

He opens it to see what his sunflower sent him.

_Vanya!  
>Do u mind havin'<br>a movie date nit?  
>Dn't feels like goin' out<br>tonit. Wut do u says?  
>~ Hamburgers FTW<em>

Ivan laughs and types back his response to Alfred.

_Sunflower, I thght  
>tht u wnted 2 go<br>out tonit since u were  
>verrry hyper bout<br>wnting 2 try  
>tht 1 restaurant…<br>McDonalds?  
>~ Sunflower lover<em>

_Hell yea! I wanna try  
>their new menu!<em>

Then again I wanna  
>stay home! TT^TT<br>Why r u makin' me choose?  
>Fuckin' hell Vanya!<br>~ Hamburgers FTW

Ivan, laughing, quickly replies back.

_Nyet, I jus thght tht u  
>wanted 2 go 2 tht,<br>but since u don't wanna…  
>~ Sunflower lover<em>

_Nonononononono!  
>Gah! Now I have 2 choose!<br>U sucks Vanya!_

~ Hamburgers FTW

_The only thng tht  
>I suck is u btw,<br>u spelled 'suck'  
>as 'sucks'<br>~ Sunflower lover_

…_Tht 1st comment isn't  
>necessary Vanya<em>

~ Hamburgers FTW

_It's only 'cause u  
>started it :P<br>~ Sunflower lover_

…_I hate u sooo much  
>rit now…smart ass<br>~ Hamburgers FTW_

_My butt isn't smart…  
>an u kno tht u don't have<br>to go hatin' me rit  
>now :)<br>~ Sunflower lover_

…_ass hole  
>~ Hamburgers FTW<em>

Before Ivan could comment back, he hears a thud from his far left. Curious as to what could have caused that noise; he slips his phone back inside of his pants, and pulls out a pipe from his right.

It just so happens to be a faucet pipe that leaks.

Ivan, listening to every sudden movement, tries to pin-point exactly where the noise came from; looking under the counter, the oven, the section within the kitchen that is designed specifically for cutting or putting the last touches on a dish, the entrance to the kitchen, behind the shelves where they keep most of the ingredients on hand, the employee's restroom.

Empty.

How odd.

'_The only place that I haven't checked is—_'

**BAM!**

Ivan goes skidding backwards—hitting his head against a metal shelf—and noticing that there was something heavy pinning him to said cupboard. Thinking that Berwald must have thought that he was hitting on Tino again, Ivan gets ready to swing the pipe.

"Wait!"

Ivan stops, realizing that the 'something heavy' was a person, he drops the pipe on the floor—making a loud 'Dink!' sound as it does so.

Ivan looks and seeing a disturbed Roderich's face, tries to compose himself.

"That was not a smart move to make Roderich. I assumed that you were someone else and I was about to strike."

Roderich nods, getting off of Ivan just as fast as when he collided with him, and tries to come up with an excuse when he sees the pipe on the floor.

He pauses, finally registering what Ivan said.

Ivan, seeing Roderich realize that he spoke a coherent sentence, mentally smacks himself while thinking, '_I think that I just blew my only chance to not make Roderich suspicious._'

"N-No! You had every reason! I just didn't think that you would use a faucet pipe as a self-defense weapon…"

Roderich looks at Ivan in the eye, making Ivan's skin crawl at the intensity of another pair of violet eyes—not his own, mind you—staring intently at him.

Saying "Awkward~!" at a time like this wouldn't even begin to describe what Ivan felt at the moment.

Not by a long shot.

"You know…"

Roderich starts, making Ivan reconsider about if he actually pulled off the whole 'I'm not as smart as you think I am' act when everyone looked at him in surprise at his honest answer or not.

He honestly hopes that it did though.

"…I was wondering why you act as if though you're not as smart as everyone claims you to be—besides Gilbert, Antonio, and Berwald, that is—you always try to act what people think that you are."

Ivan gulps.

"I-I don't know what you are talking about. I never went to college—"

_Liar._

"I'm not as smart as most of the people who work here—"

_Katyusha, Nataliya, and Alfred all know that you went to college and got a doctor's degree on child psychology._

"I only chose to work here since the pay is good and so that I could send money to my mother who is sick at the moment."

_She's no longer sick, thanks to the large sum of money that you personally gave to her on your first visit to Russia after you worked for __Flair Co.__ within the first five months after you graduated from Chapman._

Roderich looks at Ivan in disbelief.

"Uh-huh…I wasn't asking you if you went to college or why you chose to get a job as a cook for this restaurant."

Ivan frantically tries to think of something to do as to avoid Roderich's questioning gaze. Seeing that he was making some Hamburger Helper®, since Alfred really loves the Cheeseburger flavored one (big surprise there) for their little movie-night, he decides to finish the dish and try to hurry along to get to Alfred's brother's house.

Roderich, knowing that he wasn't going to get an answer from Ivan (not much of a shocker there), places his hand on Ivan's shoulder silently (while Ivan is distracted making the Hamburger Helper®) and shoves.

Ivan, startled by the sudden pressure against his shoulder, quickly looks to his left. Upon seeing Roderich staring at him with a hard gaze, Ivan pulls his shoulder away from Roderich's grasp.

"I know that you're hiding something from me Ivan. If you're not going to tell me, I'll go ask Antonio instead."

_I _really_ don't want to ask Antonio, but if it gets Ivan to answer me, then I'll do it._

Roderich, not noticing the look of pure horror on Ivan's face, turns and starts to head for the door to his left.

_He's not _really_ going to ask Antonio about me right?_

Ivan, panicking, quickly finishes putting the food inside of a self-heating container, and starts to follow Roderich out the door of the kitchen.

"Ve~ Gil, Ludwig and I were wondering if you—"

Ivan runs past the trio who were still sitting in the table that was closest to the door to the kitchen, paying attention to only the quick blur of brown hair and glasses, not noticing how Gilbert froze at the sight of what looked like a poorly written assassin movie on how the guy most likely to get killed is getting chased by said assassin.

Ivan shakes his head.

Now is not the time to get distracted by what is obvious to see in Gilbert's eyes.

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"How many fucking times do I have to tell you to fucking stop doing that?"

"Si Lovi, it's just that yo pense that you wouldn't have been complaining that much!"

Romano huffs.

He tries to push Antonio away from him and more towards the wall that is the closest to the restroom door.

Sure, he was with Antonio in the restroom while Feliciano, Potato Bastard #1 and Potato Bastard #2 were still catching up on stuff.

Did he forget to mention that he was "Eavesdropping" on their conversation?

He did?

Now you know.

Anyways, what were Antonio and Romano doing in the restrooms?

To put it simply:

They were both trying to rush going into the restroom (since Antonio was whispering what he was going to do to Romano if he went home with him), so they were "walking" at a fast pace.

The moment that they enter the men's restroom, Antonio pushes him against the door. Preventing anyone who tries to use the restroom and force them to walk away if they happen to hear certain voices against said door.

"Fuck Antonio! That fucking hurt like a bitch!"

Romano pants as he tries to push Antonio away from him.

"Perdon querido, I didn't mean to make you hurt. Here, let me make it better."

He starts to bring his hands to the back of Romano's head, making sure to caress it gently.

Romano—who was releasing a soft "Ow…"—starts to feel hot as Antonio managed to brush up against a certain curl with his hand.

"Hm? Is my Lovi getting turned on by me curing his boo-boo?"

Antonio says, smirking as he sees Romano twist his head to the side, trying to cover up his blush.

He's not turned on, not at all!

He's totally ignoring the way that his breath is starting to come in short pants as a certain someone is skimming their nose against the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent with a seductive caress.

"You always smell so good Lovino…"

…Maybe not _completely_ ignoring what's happening…

He can't really ignore the way that those lips from that Antonio are giving his neck a great amount of attention. Making sure to pay extra attention and sucking on the pressure point making Romano release a moan as he exposes more of his neck towards Antonio.

Smirking, Antonio starts to make his way up towards Romano's earlobe—making sure to lick the outer shell slowly—and runs his hands up and down his body. Romano groans in response, leaning against Antonio as he starts to feel overcome with pleasure. Antonio, knowing how Romano's reacting, starts to push against Romano even more and gets a low moan as a response.

Romano follows Antonio's command and glides down on the floor, with the Spaniard on top of him and grinding their hips together slowly. Romano moans so low, it makes Antonio's member twitch with arousal.

One minute Antonio's unbuttoning Romano's shirt, the next he's pushed against the floor with a fuming Romano standing and glaring at said Spaniard.

"¿Lovi?"

Romano, huffing at Antonio's obvious display at trying to hide his erection, makes a "Be quiet" gesture with his index finger over his mouth.

Antonio, noticing that Romano was being serious, slowly gets up and joins Romano as they both try to listen to what is happening on the other side of the door.

"¿Que pasó?"

Antonio whispers in Romano's ear, making Romano shiver at how close they were going to actually _fuck_ in the restroom of a restaurant.

Ay Dios mio~!

Feliciano would most likely exclaim that at a time like this…

"I heard someone coming just now…"

Romano whispers back.

"Hm…should we leave querido?"

Romano shakes his head.

"We should pretend that we were just making out—it works every time, right?"

Antonio laughs.

"You know that it won't end with just kissing."

Romano smirks.

"I never claimed that we were just going to kiss."

Antonio's grin widens.

"¿Entonces empesamos ahorita, no?"

Romano pushes himself against Antonio.

"You bet your sweet ass we'll start now."

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

_All I have to do is go in the restroom, pull Antonio away from making out with his date, and then Ivan will leave me alone!_

Roderich makes his way from his hiding spot in the corner of the restaurant's entrance—making sure that a certain Russian wasn't lurking around—and bolts for the men's restroom.

No sooner in leaving his hiding spot, does Ivan suddenly appear from behind the host's desk in a flash.

Startled at where Ivan was hiding, Roderich runs with vigor to the restrooms.

Upon reaching the door, Roderich didn't bother to think why the door suddenly gave way, nor why the first thing that left his lips was "ANTONIO!"

He honestly doesn't have a good explanation to give to the two confused faces in front of him, so it really isn't helping that they're waiting for an explanation as to why their "make-out" session has abruptly ended.

"It looks like you have caught them in the middle of kissing one another Roderich."

Roderich freezes as he hears Ivan comment from behind.

"W-What are you talking about Ivan? I-I was talking to Antonio when his date showed up asking what we were doing talking in the men's restroom."

Roderich was pleading with his eyes that Antonio and Romano to go along with the lie.

He hopes that they understood him.

"Y-Yeah, Roderich was just talking to Antonio about how he knew Feliciano."

Romano automatically says, catching Ivan and Antonio off guard.

Roderich gives him a "Thank you" look.

Romano gives him a "You better explain what's going on here as soon as this weird-o leaves" look.

Roderich slowly nods his head.

Antonio, looking at Ivan in suspicion, sees Romano and Roderich exchanging looks with one another.

"There's no kissing going on Ivan. You are free to go."

"I'm also free to stay."

Ivan points out.

Roderich tries his best not to grit his teeth together at Ivan's suggestion.

"Yes, but we are all going to meet up with Gilbert, and Romano's brother along with his date. Isn't that right Roderich?"

Antonio throws a smile at Roderich is use to, but the look in his eyes say that he shouldn't be alone with Ivan.

"Ah, then I apologize. I assumed the wrong thing when Roderich was questioning me about something. I will be going now."

Ivan says, giving Roderich an intense stare, slowly making his way out of the restroom and back towards the kitchen.

The moment that he turned away from the kitchen door, he fixed the text message that he was composing to Alfred.

_How 'bout we have tht  
>-home-movie-nit<br>tht u wnted? I'm  
>suddenly not in th<br>mood 2 go out 2nit  
>~ Sunflower lover<em>

_Huh? I thght tht I was  
>gonna choose.<br>Something wrong babe?  
>U wanna talk 'bout it?<br>~ Hamburgers FTW_

…_  
>Nothing is wrong<br>sunflower. Nothing.  
>~ Sunflower lover<em>

…_  
>We are SO<br>staying home tonight.  
>Wanna come over rit now?<br>Mattie's not home ^ ^  
>~ Hamburgers FTW<em>

Ivan smiles, seeing how much his Alfred wants to cheer him up when he is feeling down, as he finishes reading what Alfred sent him.

_Sometimes, he doesn't know how happy he makes my day._

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"—and _that_ was why he was chasing me all the way over here."

Romano and Antonio look at each other as Roderich explains what happened earlier.

It also doesn't help that they're all sitting on the floor in the men's restroom.

Go figure.

"Well that still doesn't make any sense."

Romano says, ignoring the look of suspicion on Antonio's face.

Roderich sighs, wondering whether or not Antonio is going to answer him about Ivan.

He hopes that he does.

"He only acts that way to scare people away."

Antonio finally answers, catching Roderich and Romano off guard.

"Why the hell would he do that?"

"Why would he act that way?"

Both ask him.

Antonio sighs, wishing that they would just leave this alone.

"It's mostly because of Ivan's history with Gilbert."

"What? What kind of history does Potato Bastard #2 have with Mr. Weird-o?"

Romano asks, while Roderich just nods his head in agreement.

"That's what I'm curious about. Ivan mostly looked surprised that I was able to see through his façade pretty quickly after he said how to solve Gilbert's problem earlier. You should know you were there at the time Antonio."

Antonio nods his head; Romano just looks plain confused.

"He thought that if you guys saw it way later, there would have been a lot of drama. He's actually smarter than the image he gives off. It's not because he wants to mess around with people—it's that he wants to see how far his experiment can go before other people start to catch on and ruin it."

"What 'experiment'?"

Antonio thinks about it before he answers.

"Maybe experiment isn't the right word. Excuse my Spanish; it sometimes mixes up what I'm trying to say."

"That's why I think he should stick to speaking Spanish as much as he can without messing up, but he doesn't want to still have that Spanish accent hanging around when he's speaking in English."

Romano mutters.

"What do you call those types of tests that involve test subjects in certain temperamental situations in which you watch their reaction to certain elements within a specifically set test?"

Roderich, caught off guard at Antonio's sudden question, tries to answer as best as he can.

"Isn't that the definition of an experiment?"

Romano snorts.

"Yeah, that's the definition of experiment. Sometimes Antonio knows what he's talking about. Other times he does this."

"Then it is 'experiment'?"

Antonio looks at Romano, who nods.

"But that doesn't explain anything! Why would he be conducting an illegal experiment without our knowledge?"

Antonio looks at Roderich.

"As long as the main person that he's conducting the experiment about is notified, it's all good."

Roderich shakes his head.

"Who would he tell that would let him get away with said 'experiment'?"

Pause.

"He _wouldn't_!"

Antonio nods his head slowly.

"He would."

Roderich sighs.

"Poor Kiku…"

Antonio nods in agreement.

"Wait—how do you, Gilbert, and Berwald know that Ivan's doing this 'experiment' in the first place?"

Antonio makes a face of grimance.

"Gilbert and I happened to have passed by Kiku's office when Ivan was making his proposal the first time that he applied to become the cook for Canorous. Kiku hesitantly accepted, but the only two conditions he said was that Ivan could not use the actually names of those who work here and that he couldn't force anyone who found out to be a part of the 'project' that Ivan was doing."

Romano whistles low.

"That's one thorough man."

Roderich grimances at the thought that he was a part of the 'experiment' that Ivan was conducting.

"Did he ever finish the experiment?"

Antonio nods his head.

"He wouldn't have gotten his doctoral degree in child psychology if he didn't."

"He told me that he didn't go to college."

Antonio shakes his head.

"Anything to mess with the minds of those around him."

Roderich feels uneasy.

"That still doesn't explain how Berwald knows."

Antonio shakes his head before Roderich finished the sentence.

"That has to do with Gilbert and Ivan's past. I don't know much about it myself, but what I do know I can't say. It's not within my place to do so."

Roderich nods his head.

"Are the two of you done eating?"

Romano and Antonio both nod their heads.

Roderich, standing up, helps Romano and Antonio to their feet as well.

"I'm off to go see Elizaveth now. She has to get Gilbert ready for his 'match'."

Antonio nods.

"Gilbert told me about that. Good luck with having to deal with Gilbert when he's drunk."

Roderich looks at Antonio in surprise.

"He never comes home drunk. Quite the opposite actually."

Antonio laughs at Roderich.

"Then he must have realized that he can't expect to remember what happened the night before if he's not drunk."

Roderich laughs with him.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Lovino. Goodnight to the both of you."

"Buenas noches Roderich~!"

"Buena notte Roderich."

As Roderich starts to leave, Romano hears a ringtone flaring off.

"_When you give me k-kisses. That's money honey.  
>Well I'm your lover and your mistress. That's money honey.<br>When you touch me it's so delicious. That's money honey.  
>Baby when you tear me to pieces. That's money honey.<em>

_That's m-o-n-e-y so sexy_"

Noticing that Antonio is giving him a funny look, Romano mutters a quick "Feliciano was messing with my phone again" before he flips it open to see who sent him a text.

_Like OMG Romano!  
>I sooo like need<br>Ludwig over here stat!  
>I can't like get Harold<br>2 like get off his ass  
>&amp; leave dah club!<br>Some assistance would b like  
>overly grateful! _<br>~ Blondies R Fun_

Romano starts to bust up laughing, before he re-reads the message again.

"What are you laughing about Lovi~?"

"Shush."

Romano says as he types his response.

_Che palle! Feli,  
>Potato Bastard #1,<br>& I r coming over  
>rit now. Just tying<br>up some loose ends  
>over here. See u in<br>a bit, alrit?  
>~ DehMafiaLeader<em>

_Like fuckin' hurry!  
>I dunno how long<br>I can keep him down! TT^TT  
>~ Blondies R Fun<em>

"Hey Antonio."

"Hm?"

"Let's get back; I have to go to work now."

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"Ve~ Gil, Ludwig and I were wondering if you wanted to see your parents as soon as we finished eating."

Gilbert, who was already back with a second round of Heineken®—after he finished drinking Ludwig's of course!—starts to cough at the mention of his parents.

Ludwig, who was eyeing the drink in his brother's hand, looks up to Feliciano in surprise.

Apparently, he was catching both of the German brothers with one too many surprises tonight. Not that the first topic that he mentioned after Gilbert apologized what really appropriate for the restaurant, but he honestly just wanted Gilbert's honest opinion about his views on using leather in the bedroom.

Although seeing Ludwig's shocked expression was priceless, it was very disappointing that Gilbert only laughed at Ludwig's display.

On the bright side, Gilbert gave him his number so that he could honestly tell him what he thinks about leather. He gave the number to him while Ludwig wasn't looking of course.

That would ruin the fun.

"Is that so?"

Gilbert looks at Ludwig in surprise with his left eyebrow raised.

"I would like to see my parents."

Feliciano looks at Gilbert happily.

"But I don't think that right now would be a good time."

At this response Feliciano pouts, making Gilbert laugh.

"Why not~?"

Gilbert releases a huge sigh.

"Doesn't it sound like you're rushing things Feliciano? Don't get me wrong! I wouldn't want anything in the world right now than to see my parents at the moment—but right after you barely realized that I work here in L.A.? Does that sound right to you?"

Feliciano thinks about, while Ludwig slowly shakes his head.

"You see? Even Ludwig agrees that it would be too soon. Besides, what if our parents are still in contact with Elizaveth's? That would mean that I'm endangering her life for the sake of wanting to see my parents. I can't do that to her. First you tell my parents that I'm working in L.A.—by myself of course—and we'll play it from ear, okay?"

Feliciano looks at Gilbert with sad eyes.

"I thought that I was helping you by telling you about your parents…"

Gilbert ruffles Feliciano's hair as he smiles.

"You did. It's just not the right time for that. You understand though, right?"

Feliciano nods.

"Besides, I'm going to be meeting this hot chick tonight."

Gilbert wiggles his eyebrows at Feliciano, making him laugh at Gilbert's display.

"Is that sometime soon~?"

Gilbert looks at his watch, ready to tell Feliciano that he'll be leaving in a bit, when he hears his ringtone signaling that he's getting a text message.

"_Do it now  
>You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals<br>So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel  
>Do it again now<br>You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals  
>So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel<br>Gettin' horny now_"

Seeing the look of confusion on Feliciano and Ludwig, Gilbert answers with a simple "France" before they turned to look at their own phones.

_Mon Dieu Gilbert!  
>Where r u?<br>I thght tht u said  
>tht u were gonna<br>b here 2 see my fil?  
>Or r u not coming?<br>~ L'amour C'est Mon Nombre_

_Dude u kno tht Imma  
>b there! Just give me<br>½ an hour 2 get ready.  
>Tht O.K. wit u?<br>~ The Awesomeness That Is Me_

Gilbert chuckles, placing his phone on the table, seeing that Ludwig and Feliciano must have gotten texts around the same time that he did.

Huh, coincidence much?

"It looks like I have to be going soon after all."

Ludwig and Feliciano both look at Gilbert in surprise.

"Okay then~! We have to get going to, right Ludwig~?"

Ludwig nods his head in agreement.

"Oh, is that so? Did you guys get the same text or something?"

Gilbert asks, trying to peer over Ludwig's shoulder to get a better look.

"We have to go to work right now~!"

Feliciano says, making Ludwig feel grateful that he managed to distract Gilbert long enough for him to hide his phone in his pants.

Gilbert smirks.

"Do the both of you work at the same place?"

At the nodding of two heads, Gilbert laughs.

"Kesesesesesesesese~! And here I thought that I wouldn't live to see the day where the both of you work at the same place! Do you guys work in a modeling agency?"

Feliciano shakes his head.

"We work at a bar~!"

Gilbert, who was waiting to hear something better, drops his mouth open in astonishment.

Their fucking around with him right now—right?

"W-What?"

Feliciano nods his head.

"We currently work at À Deux. Ludwig's the bouncer while I'm one of the pole dancers there~"

Ludwig, ashamed that he has to re-live this scenario again, places his head in his hands, hunched over the table as he waits to hear a scorning tone from his older brother.

"You can hook me up with free drinks over there? That place is like fucking hard to get into! I can't wait to rub it in those people's faces that I can get in while they wait for their turn!"

Ludwig looks at Gilbert in surprise, before resting his head in his hands and sighing once more.

"You won't be able to do that all the time Gilbert~!"

At Feliciano's comment, Gilbert pouts.

"And why not? I'm awesome enough!"

Feliciano laughs.

"That's not it! It's just that as employees of the club, we only have a limited amount of freebies that we could use~!"

Gilbert nods his head.

Before he could answer back with a "Makes sense", he hears another ringtone go off.

"_I'm only getting started  
>I won't blackout<br>This time I got nothing to waste  
>Let's go a little harder<br>I'm on fire  
>I won't blackout<br>I'm on my way_

"_I'm only getting started  
>I won't blackout—<em>"

Knowing who it is, he opens his phone.

_I just finished getting a text from Liz.  
>She said that we need to get<br>home within the next 20 mins  
>before she decides that NO<br>ONE will being going out  
>this evening at all. Get your<br>ass in the car already; I'm  
>already in the driver's seat<br>waiting for you. Hurry up.  
>~ The Pianist<em>

Gilbert quickly texts back.

_I'm on my way out rit now.  
>Where u parked?<br>~ The Awesomeness That Is Me_

_In front of the  
>restaurant parking lot.<br>Hurry.  
>~ The Pianist<em>

_Will do.  
>~ The Awesomeness That Is Me<em>

"Well you guys, I have to go now. I just got a text from Roderich."

"You know the host Gilbert~?"

Gilbert nods his head.

"He's Liz's boyfriend—my bad—_fiancé_."

At the mentioning of the word "fiancé" Ludwig and Feliciano look at Gilbert in shock.

"She's getting married?"

"Who's the luck girl~?"

Both questions were asked at the same time, throwing Gilbert off balance.

"Her name is Elizaveth—Liz for short since she can't stand to hear her full name from me. She recently got proposed to, so yeah, she's getting married. Guess who the Best Man is?"

Feliciano gasps, while Ludwig looks surprised.

"You're not serious."

Gilbert nods his head.

"That's right Lutz, _I'm_ the Best Man."

"Who is the Maid of Honor~?"

Gilbert visible blanches.

"H-Her name is Nataliya."

"That sounds like a nice name for a maiden~!"

Gilbert numbly nods his head.

"Y-Yeah, well I have to go now. See you later Lutz! Nice seeing you Feliciano."

"See you later Gilbert~!"

"Bye."

The moment that Gilbert walks out of the door, Romano and Antonio "appear", coming inside of the restaurant and walking towards Ludwig and Feliciano.

"Fratello, you took a really long time to calm down if you're just coming from outside right now~"

Romano, who was trying his best to keep Antonio from grabbing his ass again, looks up at Feliciano in confusion.

When he saw Ludwig give him the "Go along with it", he glared at Ludwig.

"I felt sick so I went to the restroom first. Seeing as I wasn't feeling better, Antonio took me outside to get some fresh air."

Romano easily says, giving Ludwig the "I don't want to owe you shit" look as he stares off to the side.

"Okay then~ I just finished getting a text from France saying that Mattie-dear needs help with what to do with the black box we gave him the other day~!"

Romano nods his head.

"I just finished getting a text from Felik saying that he needs help getting Harold out of the club."

He looks over at Ludwig.

"He says that he's going to need your help."

Ludwig nods.

"Aw~! Does that mean that you're all leaving right now?"

Antonio says, wrapping his arms around Romano's waist.

"Yes we do."

"Si~!"

"Get off of me! Of course we have to fucking go right now you Tomato Bastard!"

All three respond at the same time, making Antonio laugh.

"I'll let Lovi go if he gives me a kiss~!"

Feliciano laughs.

"Fratello wouldn't want to do that in front of all of us Antonio~!"

Romano, spurred on by Feliciano's comment, releases himself from Antonio.

"I'll show you!"

He gets on his toes, and kisses Antonio.

Not just a peck on the lips, hell no.

He did the whole open mouth French-kissing shebang package.

Feliciano and Ludwig stare in shock at what Romano just did.

Well, Feliciano was the one staring; Ludwig had his mouth hanging open and wide enough to let the flies enter.

Antonio feels like he could die right now from how enthusiastic his Lovino is acting right now.

Romano finally removes his mouth away from Antonio.

"Take that Feli~!"

Romano says, feeling very smug at the moment.

Feliciano claps his hands, making Romano look at him in confusion.

"Fratello is starting to come out of his shell more~!"

Feliciano brings Romano into one of his famous bear hugs, making Romano squirm and beg to be released.

"Um, shouldn't we stop those two…?"

Ludwig asks Antonio, worried that Romano might break something and try to get the German to fight him.

Antonio shakes his head, a smile still lingering on his lips.

"They're almost done now."

Sure enough, Feliciano lets go of Romano, making him skid a couple of steps away and hoping that Feliciano doesn't want to give Romano a second round.

Feliciano, feeling embarrassed walks up nervously towards Romano, making him wonder what could have caused Feliciano to change from being happy to being serious in a heartbeat.

"U-Um f-fratello?"

Romano, his right eyebrow furrowed in confusion, slowly nods his head and telling Feliciano to go on with what he wants to tell Romano.

"I may have told Mattie-dear to start looking at all of the things inside of the box and see what he likes already…?"

Romano, who was looking at Antonio, quickly does a whiplash looking at Feliciano as his face turns into one of incredulous.

"You did _what_? When did you exactly tell him to do this?"

Feliciano, who was already nervous, goes behind Ludwig and winds his arms around his waist.

Romano sighs, walking up to Antonio and hugs him.

"I'll call you when I'm out from work, alright?"

Antonio smiles at Romano.

"You know that I'll wait until you do before I fall asleep."

Romano scoffs.

"Only you would say all of that cheesy lovey-dovey shit."

Feliciano, convinced that Romano wasn't going to scold him, slowly comes from behind Ludwig and hugs him as well.

Romano, waiting for Feliciano to do just that, releases his hold on Antonio and starts to drag Feliciano and Ludwig out of the restaurant.

"I'll see you later Antonio!"

Romano calls back, ignoring the muffled protests of "Noooooo! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm so—" as he exits with Ludwig, who has been surprisingly calm throughout the whole ordeal.

Antonio laughs, heading towards the kitchen, looking for Ivan to tell him to clean up.

When he reaches inside of the kitchen, he sees a note taped to one of the tables.

_Antonio,  
>I received a call from Nataliya<br>telling me that Katyusha is sick.  
>I left early because of that.<br>Do you mind closing the restaurant up?  
>~ Ivan<br>P.S. There's some food left from the orders  
>earlier. They aren't poisoned! Enjoy them! ^ ^<em>

Antonio, surprised, looks over to see that there was indeed food left over.

Mierda.

And here he thought that Ivan was going to do it.

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"—and then when she finds out that when a man loves another man—"

"_France!_"

"_PAPA!_"

Both Arthur and Matthew yell at France.

Well, Arthur yelled at France.

Matthew's yell only managed to reach the volume of how Alfred talks (on a normal basis).

France, who was huffing at the lack of appreciation from the two in front of him, turns his head to the side.

"Such inconsiderately rude behavior! And here I thought that I taught you better than that Mathieu! As for you Arthur, showing such awful behavior to our Mathieu and corrupting him from learning the harsh realities of this world—!"

"_You're_ the one who's bloody doing rude behavior here! And what's that about '_corrupting him_'? You're the one who doesn't know which boundaries you _should_ and _shouldn't_ cross! And another thing that I should mention, why did you have to remind me to DJ here? I was obviously going to be coming—there was no need for you to send me _twenty bloody text messages_ saying "Are you going to be DJing tonight?" over and over and over again! Where the fucking bloody hell is Yao at anyways? You are—!"

Matthew, who already gave up on reasoning with his 'Papa', decides to move to the couch farthest away from his bickering parents.

Bored, he decides to walk out of Romano's office and find Felik.

Seeing Toris and Edward hanging around Christian—who is ignoring Matthias at the moment, from the looks of Matthias's pout—Matthew thinks about where Felik is most likely at.

"Hey there cutie, you come here often?"

Matthew, who snapped out of his thoughts, looks to his right and sees YongSoo slowly making his way from the bar towards Matthew with a glazed look in his eyes.

Matthew, who was looking at Caroline being the temporary bartender until either Felik or Matthew showed up, saw that she held up four fingers to him. He nods his head, understanding what Caroline meant by four.

YongSoo has had four hard shots of Russian vodka, and now he's looking at Matthew with a drunken gaze. Matthew sighs, turning around to look for Felik so that they could both haul YongSoo's ass out of the club.

Soon.

"Hey, come back here cutie~!"

Matthew, pretending that he couldn't hear YongSoo, quickly scans the club—hoping to see a streak of blond hair that belongs to Felik.

Seeing something like blond near the edge of the dance floor, Matthew automatically makes his way over there.

"Like no way~! Are you like serious?"

Matthew—sighing in relief that he found Felik so quickly—was about to raise his voice to announce that he was there, when he noticed Felik go on his toes and hug this really tall Turkish-looking stranger that most certainly was _not_ Toris.

Surprised at the sudden flair of intimacy, Matthew blushes in embarrassment and wonders if he should even make his presence known to the two while also mentioning that a certain Egyptian was glaring in their direction at how intimate they were being.

It also wasn't helping with his current image that the tall man was whispering in Felik's ear, making Felik giggle at whatever he was telling the blond.

Matthew, who was starting to become convinced that the tall man was stealing Felik away from Toris, was about to go walk up to the 'couple' and drag Felik away to tell him what the hell was going on—

"EEEEEPPPPP!"

Matthew's view got obscured by a pair of slim hands on his glasses—preventing him to get his vision back.

Before he could figure what was going on, he felt a second pair of slim hands on his mouth, and the next thing that he knows is that he's being dragged somewhere.

Panicking that it was YongSoo, Matthew starts to squeal until there was no tomorrow.

Which, looking at how this was playing out, was looking fairly real at the moment.

Hockey maple.

He hears a door open and then close, shutting off the music that was blaring earlier into a quiet lull.

'_The moment that they let go of me, I'll scream like a pansy and try to get my way back inside!_'

Matthew thinks, hoping that his kidnapers were generous enough to let him see where they were currently at.

"You could let him go now."

Both pairs of hands automatically release Matthew, making him go head first on the floor disoriented.

"I told you that this was a stupid idea!"

"But I thought that you agreed to do this~?"

"Yeah, but I never agreed about the part where we scare him shitless!"

"…do you think he passed out~?"

"…I honestly hope that he didn't, he has customers that want _his_ attention specifically. What are we going to tell them? 'Oh, Matthew passed out right now; he'll be feeling better soon don't worry?' They're not going to buy that bull shit. If they do, it won't be believable for long. "

Matthew, shaking the disorientation out of him, realizes who the voices talking above him are.

"You guys couldn't have warned me that you were going to drag me into Romano's office?"

Matthew asks, slowly getting up and moving to sit on the couch that he left a few moments ago.

Feliciano and Romano look at one another before they slowly shake their heads, making their curls bounce.

"Would you rather we say "Hi Matthew~!" you squealing like a little girl, and interrupt Felik talking to his friend?"

Romano asks, making Feliciano nod in agreement.

Matthew grimances.

"I was _not_ "Squealing like a little girl", I-I was screaming like there was no tomorrow."

Romano shakes his head, not convinced in the slightest.

Matthew sighs, knowing that he lost that argument.

"Say, where did Papa and Father go? I could have sworn that they were here arguing with each other earlier?"

Feliciano and Romano both nod.

"They were making out~!"

"I kicked them out on the grounds "No making-out with the employees of À Deux." It was mostly said to your Papa, since your Father understood immediately."

Matthew slaps himself on the forehead.

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't know that they were going to do that."

He shakes his head.

"Have you looked inside of the box yet Matthew~?"

Matthew, who was hoping that the floor would swallow him whole, looks up at Feliciano in confusion before he understood what he said.

He shakes his head.

Feliciano breathes a sigh of relief, while Romano glares at him.

"You're lucky that he didn't see anything."

"What are you guys talking about? Feliciano told me that I wasn't allowed to look into the box until the both of you showed up."

Feliciano sticks his tongue out at Romano who huffed.

"That makes things easier and harder at the same time."

Matthew looks at Romano in confusion.

"Easier and harder?"

Romano nods his head.

"Go get the box Feli."

Feliciano walks behind Romano's desk, pulling out the black box.

Romano sighs, walking over to the closet that is behind his chair.

"Matthew looks very stylish tonight~!"

Feliciano comments, giving the box to Matthew, as Romano fishes out a key from his back pocket and opens the closet door.

Matthew nods slowly.

"Alfred helped me pick it out."

Romano scoffs as Feliciano nods along with Matthew's comment.

"The leather really _emphasizes_ the shape of your ass in those pants~!"

Matthew blushes.

"Isn't that something that you should say to your date Feli?"

Feliciano shakes his head.

"If it helps build up your self-esteem, then I'll say it as many times as necessary~!"

Matthew sighs.

"I _really_ don't want to hear you say that again Feli. Could we just agree that my self-esteem went up so that you don't have to say it again?"

Feliciano pouts.

"Then what's the point in me not saying it if your self-esteem doesn't go up~?"

Matthew laughs, ruffling Feliciano's hair.

"As long as you're not mad at me about anything in specific, then my self-esteem _will_ go up. Understand?"

Feliciano nods.

Romano turns around from the closet, walking up to Matthew and Feliciano who were on the couch, and throws an outfit to Feliciano.

"Go change your clothes; the rush hour is about to start in a few minutes."

Feliciano, walking to the restrooms right next door, knew that he was leaving Romano and Matthew alone for a bit in the meantime while he goes off to change.

Romano walks up to Matthew.

"Aren't you going to open it?"

Matthew nods his head.

"I was just wondering when you had that built-in closet."

Romano shrugs.

"I've always had it, even when I originally started out my days here as a pole dancing stripper."

Matthew, who was nodding at Romano's comment, freezes as he understood what Romano said and blushed.

"Say what?"

Romano, knowing that Matthew was blushing out of embarrassment, starts to laugh.

"There's no need to get embarrassed. If anything, _I_ should be the one embarrassed. But I'm not."

He shrugs.

"Open the box already Matthew."

Matthew quickly does what Romano tells him to—but stops when he sees something that doesn't make any sense.

"Um…am I missing something here…?"

Romano looks over to see what Katherine put inside of Matthew's box: mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow, lipstick, lip liner, blush, compact, glitter (for his eye lids), eye drops, lip gloss, contacts, ribbons, hair clips and hair bands, earrings, and a few necklaces.

"I don't see anything missing in there. She actually added more stuff in your box than she did with Feli's. I think Feli would be jealous if you told him though."

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"She's _sooooooo_ going to kill us!"

"No she won't! We still have five minutes!"

Pause.

They check the time.

"BULLSHIT! THAT WAS FIVE MINUTES AGO!"

"…"

"…?"

"HOLY SHIT, YOU'RE RIGHT!"

"FLOOR IT MAN!"

The engine suddenly stops.

"Hurry up and get inside!"

"Hell no! You go in first!"

"Why me?"

"Because she won't be angry with your ass if she sees you first!"

Roderich and Gilbert both scramble out of the car, trying to not become castrated by a pissed off Elizaveth for coming home five minutes late.

Gilbert, seeing that he was going to reach the door first, quickly shoves Roderich in front of him.

After struggling to open the door for three seconds, Roderich finally manages to pass through.

Gilbert, nervous that Elizaveth was going to bring out the frying pan on his ass, shoves Roderich and plans on running to his room—

Roderich was planning in his head on how to sweet talk Elizaveth about what took them so long to get home—

When they both realize that there was no one in the living room.

Both breathe a sigh of relief, until they hear a laugh coming from the kitchen.

Expecting the worst, Gilbert automatically pulls Roderich in front of him, as they make the trek to the kitchen.

"Yeah, I was thinking about having that! How did you know I was? Ahahahahah and you thought that I wasn't going to do that Michelle!"

Seeing Elizaveth leaning against the wall talking on the phone with Michelle and texting someone on her phone makes Gilbert and Roderich breathe another sigh of relief.

"What's that Michelle? Oh, I'm texting Bella right now. Yeah, she wanted to know why the phone line was busy. So as I was saying—wait."

Elizaveth covers the mouthpiece of the phone with her right hand since her left is busy holding her cellphone, she sees Roderich being held in front of Gilbert as a pagan sacrifice, making her laugh.

She mouths out "Go get changed right now" at Roderich, since Gilbert was being a dumb ass and not looking past Roderich at Elizaveth, and goes back to talking to Michelle.

Roderich tries to make Gilbert release his grip, but Gilbert doesn't budge.

"Gilbert, let me go!"

Roderich tells Gilbert, hoping that he would listen.

"No! You're going to abandon me in my time of need!"

Roderich mentally smacks himself at how childish Gilbert is acting at the moment.

"She told us to go get changed right now."

He hisses at Gilbert, making Gilbert relax his hold on him.

The moment that he released his grip, Roderich went running to Elizaveth and his shared bedroom, leaving Gilbert alone with a chatting Elizaveth.

"Traitor!"

Hisses Gilbert at Roderich before he rounded the corner.

"I'll call you later Michelle, Bella wants to talk to me about something…yeah, and we should! Okay then, bye!"

**CLICK!**

_Shit?_

"You're late."

Elizaveth says, crossing her arms around her torso.

Gilbert, who was already at the doorframe of the kitchen, decides to run to his room.

Before he could run, Elizaveth catches him by the collar of his shirt (damn fucking dress shirts!), and starts to drag him to his room.

"Hurry up, or else we'll be leaving without you~!"

Elizaveth says sweetly, watching as Gilbert gives her a face of horror at what the squiggly at the end of the sentence means, and throws him in his room. Making sure that the door was closed, Elizaveth starts to go in the bathroom where her clothes are at, she quickly flips her phone to answer the text message she got from Bella.

_Are you going to À Deux tonight?  
>I heard from Michelle that there<br>was going to be something interesting  
>that is going to happen tonight.<br>~ Chocolate Lover_

_Roddie-kun, Gilly, and I are  
>all going tonight. I told Gilly that<br>I want him to meet this girl who  
>"just so happens" to work there.<br>~ Liz_

She snaps her phone shut, getting ready to really change into her clothes, when she sees she got a text message from Michelle.

She opens it and sees what the text was.

She smirks.

_Phase 2: complete_

All that's left is to get Gilbert there in time…

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"No."

"What?"

"I said no."

"Why~?"

"Because!"

"That's not answer."

"It is _too_ an answer."

"If fratello says it isn't an answer, then it isn't an answer Matthew~"

Matthew moans.

"I don't _want_ to wear that shirt!"

Romano looks at the shirt that he's currently holding.

"I don't see anything wrong with this shirt."

"That's because you're not going to be the one wearing it!"

Romano shakes his head.

"I've worn this shirt before Matthew; there is nothing wrong with it."

Matthew stares at Romano with his mouth open.

"Nothing wrong? _Nothing wrong?_ That shirt looks like it was made for a girl!"

Feliciano looks at the shirt himself.

Yeah, there were frills around the waist.

Sure, the shirt sleeves only go up to his elbows.

So what if the shirt stops near his navel? He's going to be wearing his red shirt underneath, so there's no problem of him flashing anyone his butt.

Feliciano thinks it looks adorable, isn't that what counts?

"I'm not wearing that!"

Then again, maybe Matthew's not looking at this in a positive way.

"But Matthew, it looks cute~! It'll enhance the look of the contacts~!"

Matthew pouts.

"Isn't it bad enough that you've put make-up on me?"

Romano looks at Matthew closely.

Technically, Matthew was struggling the entire time Feliciano was applying the mascara, midnight blue eyeliner, and eye drops; he gave up after Romano applied the light pink blush, red lip stick, and sapphire blue contacts.

Did he forget to mention how much of a bitch it was to _not_ poke Matthew's eyes as he was putting on the contacts?

Well, it was a bitch.

And it was hard to keep Matthew still.

"Details, details. What matters is how you look overall."

Romano comments.

Not a smudge anywhere.

Wow, Feliciano and Romano should really mention this to France later on.

"Look, if you don't wear the shirt, you won't work today and you'll get your paycheck two weeks later than usual."

Matthew sighs in defeat, knowing that his Papa would be disappointed in him.

"Is the shirt going to be tight on me?"

Feliciano and Romano look at each other for a quick second before looking back at Matthew.

"It fits me loosely~!"

"It might fit just right with you Matthew."

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"Like no way~! Are you like serious?"

Felik releases Adnan, having the strangest feeling that he should let go.

Weird.

"Are you like ready?"

Felik turns to look for Gupta, making sure to keep an ear out for Adnan if he doesn't want to go through with this.

He may act like a moe-foe most of the time, but he's not really one.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Adnan replies, making Felik smile like a crazy person.

After struggling to find Gupta, Felik fishes out his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to send Gupta a text. From there I'm going to leave you there with him—don't look at me like that I have a lot of work to do!—and if it gets too awkward, you'll text me, right?"

Adnan nods his head.

_Guppie-chan! Where r chu ?  
>I have ur hot-stud over here!<br>He's VERY anxious 2 see u!  
>Where u ?<br>~ Blondies R Fun_

_I'm near the second floor, the rail  
>that's overlooking the dance floor.<br>I can see you guys from here.  
>Can you see me? XD<br>~ Egyptian Blue_

Felik snaps his phone shut, looking up on the second floor of the building.

Noticing the specific golden hoop earring that stands out in even the darkness, Felik smiles, and the earlier tension evaporates as quickly as it came in the first place.

He sees Gupta smile back at him, making Felik feel that much more relieved that he thought of using his phone instead of looking around for him.

He waves, making Adnan focus on where he was waving at.

His heart stops as he sees Gupta leaning against the rail, shyly smiling at the both of them.

"Let's go!"

Felik says, dragging a stubborn Adnan up the stairs, ignoring most couples who were trying to get a quick grab at Felik.

When they finally reach the top of the stairs, they see Gupta still leaning against the rail.

Felik, pushing Adnan forward, makes a "text me if you need help" motion with him pointing a finger at Adnan and then pointing at his phone.

Adnan nods, walking towards Gupta.

Felik hopes that neither of the two fucks this up.

If they do, guess who's going to be singing "Gay Bar"?

Here's a hint: it's _not_ going to be Felik.

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"You done getting dressed Roddie-kun?"

Elizaveth asks, knocking on the door before she enters it.

"Done."

Roderich answers, stepping in front of her, spinning around in a slow circle to show her if she approved of the whole outfit.

"It's perfect!"

He passed.

"Do you think that Gilbert's done in the bathroom?"

Roderich asks, not noticing the way that Elizaveth rolled her eyes.

She scoffs.

"That guy is more of a woman in the bathroom than I am! Let's go tell him we're leaving in five!"

Roderich laughs at Elizaveth's display of rubbing her hands together.

"Or maybe you could tell him that I started the engine?"

Elizaveth laughs, hugging Roderich and giving him a peck on the lips.

"Sometimes you're much worse than me."

"I never claimed to be perfect."

Elizaveth walks to the bathroom, knocking on the door really fast.

"WHAT?"

She rolls her eyes.

"Oh Gilly, we're going to be leaving now~! Roddie-kun already started the engine~!"

"WHAT? You said that you weren't going to leave for another 10 minutes!"

Elizaveth stays silent for a bit.

"Liz? Liz? LIZ! Shit! Ow! I'm coming out now!"

Elizaveth quickly runs to Roderich.

"Get the camera!"

And Roderich follows Elizaveth to the bathroom door.

"WAIT FOR ME!"

**SNAP! FLASH!**

Confused, Gilbert looks at Elizaveth's laughing face and then at Roderich's face as he lowers the camera.

"Bastards!"

Gilbert says closing the door.

"So? How does it look?"

Elizaveth asks the moment that Gilbert closed the door, looking over Roderich's shoulder to see how the picture of Gilbert rushing out of the bathroom came out.

Well, the leather vest on top of the red polo shirt looks promising.

She just wished that Gilbert actually put the black skinny jeans on, instead of leaving them on the sink.

His hair was done in record time though, so that's got to count for something.

Although the really prize what the really funny look on Gilbert's face as he was about to leave the bathroom—his nose is all scrunched up at an awkward angle, his eyes were a bit cross-eyed, and his mouth was ready to start screaming some profanities.

All in all, a picture worthy of blackmailing Gilbert.

She knew when to call them.

"We'll be waiting for you at the car in two minutes!"

"Wait! I'm done!"

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"What's wrong with playing Chopin in the car?"

Roderich asks, trying to ignore the way Gilbert keeps on thumping against his seat.

"Um, because it sucks? Who listens to that shit anyway? You know what we should listen to? Schoolyard heroes!"

Roderich wrinkles his nose in disgust.

"That trashy music? Who listens to _that_?"

Gilbert pushes himself against the seat in front of him.

It just so happens to be the passenger seat where Roderich is currently sitting at. Elizaveth was driving, so that left with Gilbert sitting in the back behind Roderich.

Not a great idea now that Elizaveth and Roderich think about it.

Elizaveth, pissed that two minutes into the ride Roderich and Gilbert were fighting about what they should play in the meantime, pulls out a CD from the little glove compartment.

"_Unified diversity  
>Functioning as one body<br>Every part encouraged by the other  
>No one independent of another<br>You're irreplaceable, indispensable  
>You're incredible, incredible<em>

"_Beautiful bride  
>Body of Christ<br>One flesh abiding  
>Strong and unifying<br>Fighting ends in forgiveness  
>Unite and fight all division<br>Beautiful bride_

Roderich and Gilbert stare at Elizaveth as the song continues playing.

Well, Roderich was staring.

Gilbert's facial expression was all like "What the fuck? We had this shit?"

"_Strengthen your arms now  
>Train your fingers for battle<br>Urgency's here now  
>Train your fingers for battle<br>Fighting this violence  
>With your feet wrapped in peace<br>Sad tears and silence  
>Now screams of joy<br>Victory_

"_Beautiful bride  
>Body of Christ<br>One flesh abiding  
>Strong and unifying<br>Fighting ends in forgiveness  
>Unite and fight all division<br>Beautiful bride_

"_Beautiful bride  
>Body of Christ<br>One flesh abiding  
>Strong and unifying<em>

"_We're not gonna fall and forget  
>How far You went to pick us up<br>If one part's hurt the whole body's sick  
>If one part mourns we all mourn with Him<br>Rejoice, we'll sing with you  
>Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah<em>

"_Beautiful bride  
>Body of Christ<br>One flesh abiding  
>Strong and unifying<br>Fighting ends in forgiveness  
>Unite and fight all division<br>Beautiful bride_

"_Beautiful bride  
>Body of Christ<br>One flesh abiding  
>Strong and unifying<br>Fighting ends in forgiveness  
>Unite and fight all division<br>Beautiful bride_"

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"Look, we're only saying this for Alfred's good."

"By making _me_ tell _him_? I don't see how that works."

Feliciano sighs, patting Matthew's hair in place.

"By you telling Alfred what we told you, it would be for his good."

Matthew shakes his head.

"You're going to have to tell him yourself. He won't listen to me."

Romano shakes his head, grimacing at what he was going to say next.

"He _only_ listens to you. Haven't you wondered why he hasn't gotten into trouble with you lately?"

Matthew furrows his eyebrow.

"He's having an at-home date with Ivan tonight at my house—so _that_ counts with him getting me in trouble."

Feliciano tilts his head to the side.

"Don't you normally keep that between the two of you~?"

Matthew shakes his head.

"Papa knows, so it's not as if Alfred's going in that situation completely alone with no one to turn to; unlike me."

Matthew adds the last part bitterly.

"Hey Matthew, do you want to know what the stats are going to be for tonight?"

Matthew, who was trying his best to pull the shirt past his navel, nods at what Romano asked.

"There's Steven who's hitting the Miller®; Frank with Budweiser®; Fernando with Modelo®; Fred has Coors®; Greg with Corona®; and Sebastian with the Heineken®. Martha's drinking the vodka; Samantha won't stop with the piña coladas; Amelia's got a good grip on the long island iced tea—watch out if she starts to pass out—; Hank's got the Bacardi®; Sophia's got the José Cuervo® in her hands; and Erika's got the tequila. So that leaves the whisky, rum, ale, sodas, and water free for the rest of the customers. Need any repeats?"

Matthew shakes his head.

"I've got it; same people, same drinks. Does Felik need me over?"

Romano checks the text message—the one where Felik gave him the stats—and shakes his head.

"He says that it's calm right now."

Matthew sighs.

"So when do I have to go out again?"

Before anyone could respond, Matthew hears the ringtone he set for his Papa ring.

"_Do it now  
>You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals<br>So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel  
>Do it again now<br>You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals  
>So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel<br>Gettin' horny now_"

Romano and Feliciano start to bust up laughing at the ringtone.

Matthew, laughing along with the Vargas twins, tries to stop his laughing in order to form a proper sentence without giggling.

"Alfred found it for me. Doesn't it describe my Papa perfectly?"

Romano and Feliciano could barely manage to nod their heads in agreement since they were too busy laughing at the song.

_Mathieu!  
>Come over here where<br>ton père est DJing cette moment!  
>~ L'amour C'est Mon Nombre<em>

_Oui, oui Papa.  
>Je vien, je vien.<br>I'll be there in a bit, d'accord?  
>~ Maple FTW<em>

Matthew sighs.

"Papa wants me to head out right now."

Feliciano nods his head, giving Matthew a big hug.

Romano re-applies the red lip stick and eye drops.

"You're making my eyes too watery Romano."

Matthew says, trying to not let them cascade down his cheek.

"Would you rather we followed you around the entire night until the moment comes to re-apply the eye drops again and you're blushing in embarrassment~?"

Feliciano mentions, leaning his head forward and making his curl bob up in happiness.

The look of horror that Matthew had on his face made Romano nod in silent agreement.

"Good luck out there Matthew."

Matthew smiles at Romano.

"Thanks."

Matthew walks out the door.

"Neh, fratello~?"

Romano, who was locking his closet, looks over at Feliciano.

"Do you think that we should have put a water bra on Matthew~?"

Romano tries to hold in a laugh.

"And here I thought that putting the inserts on him would have been a better idea!"

Both Feliciano and Romano laugh.

They both know that Matthew would have had a heart attack if they added the fake breast inserts.

"Now go back in that restroom and change properly this time!"

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"_Mon Dieu! Oú est Mathieu?_"

Arthur rubs his temples, hoping that if he didn't answer France would leave him alone.

"Answer me Arthur!"

…Maybe not.

"How the bloody hell should I know? I'm not the one who sent a text message saying to come over here this instant, now am I?"

France leans against the speakers tiredly where the DJ would be playing in his make shift table near the wall where Romano's office is.

"I thought that if I texted him, he would have come here sooner, _non_?"

"You probably sent him some weird thing saying "Bring the hottest guy you could find with you over here." Knowing Matthew, he most likely decided to figure out what the hell you said."

Arthur comments, keeping an eye out for Matthew in case the frog manages to not see him and mistaken him for someone else.

He sighs.

One drunken night in Cancun, post-hang over confessions, adopting two adorable blond twins, and now he's bound to the guy in more ways than one.

"Do you see Mathieu anywhere?"

France whispers next to Arthur's ear.

"W-What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

Arthur screeches, making sure that there was enough room between the two of them to keep France away in a safe zone.

It was a good thing that Feliciano caught them before France went even further than making-out.

Arthur shudders.

That kind of intimate display should be kept _inside_ of one's house not _outside_ of it.

It seems like France is still trying to blur the line between the two once more.

"You're the one who's bloody distracting me!"

France pouts.

"I'm just trying to help…"

"Bullshit! You're trying to see how far you can go before I say something!"

France smirks, sliding his arms around Arthur's torso.

"Am I accomplishing that well?"

Arthur scoffs.

"Like an apple tree trying to bear fruit in the winter air."

France pouts, releasing Arthur and leaning against the speakers again.

"Oh come on! It was just one simple make-out session!"

"Bullocks! That was a heavy make-out session and you know it!"

Before France could comment, his phone goes off.

Hoping that it's Matthew, he quickly opens it.

_Hey Franny-pants!  
>We're by the entrance!<br>Think that you could let us in?  
>Don't want to waste Lutz's freebies<br>on all of us here.  
>~ The Awesomeness That Is Me<em>

"What? Is it Matthew?"

Arthur asks, looking over France's shoulder, expecting to see Matthew's response.

"No, it's Gilbert~"

France smiles at Arthur, looking at the main entrance a couple of feet away.

Arthur looks at France in confusion.

"You mean that one friend of yours that couldn't understand the difference between German Chocolate Cake and the knock-off American version?"

France nods.

"Why are you going over to the main entrance?"

France starts to walk in front of the dance floor, looking over his shoulder at Arthur.

"When I send you the text, find Matthew and bring him over to the table that's between the dance floor and the bar. Got that?"

"Yeah, I got it."

Arthur says, patting France on the shoulder as he goes back to the DJ's table.

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"Are you sure we should be waiting here in front of the line?"

Roderich asks—looking over at Ludwig who's trying his best to not just say "Go in." and at Elizaveth who's trying not to take out her phone and text Michelle—Gilbert, who was waiting on the other side of the door opposite of Ludwig.

Gilbert, looking up from his phone, smiles at Roderich.

"France said that he'll be coming up in two minutes—he'll be here. Trust me."

Roderich sighs, not sure on what he should be doing in the meantime.

Deciding that he should just join Gilbert on the wall, Roderich starts to walk over there.

"Ludwig, I'm looking for Gilbert~! Have you seen him around here?"

A voice says from behind the door, making Ludwig and the trio stare at the door in confusion.

"France! What are you doing behind the door?"

Gilbert says, laughing as he understood that France was too much of a pansy to properly open the door right.

Looking over at Ludwig, Gilbert and Ludwig both open the door, revealing France who is covered in a thin sheet of sweat from trying to open the door.

"Humph. Well the next time that I feel generous—"

Gilbert walks over to France and whispers something in his ear, making him stop mid-rant.

"_Ah bon?_ For a whole _heure_?"

More whispering.

"_Ahohohohohohohohohohohohohoho_~! Well forgive _me_ Gilbert! If I had known—_Mon Dieu_—okay then!"

France turns to Roderich and Elizaveth, who were wondering what Gilbert could have said to make him change his mind so fast.

Ludwig groans, wondering what Gilbert could have possible convinced (or promised) France to apologize so fast.

"Welcome, I am François Bonnefy, the owner of À Deux! As Gilbert's friends, you are free to have the first round of drinks for free, as well as the first pick of the song for the evening. How does that sound?"

Elizaveth laughs as Roderich slowly nods his head.

"That would be lovely France, thank you~!"

Gilbert slaps his hand on France's shoulder.

"Thanks buddy!"

France laughs along with Gilbert, smacking his shoulder too.

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"Where is Papa, Father?"

A voice asks behind Arthur, making Arthur squeak and drop a CD on the floor and smash into a thousand little pieces.

"Matthew! What did I tell you about sneaking up on people?"

Arthur says, bending down to pick up the pieces.

"I'm sorry Father; do you want me to help you?"

Arthur shakes his head.

"Your Papa wouldn't want you to wrinkle your clothes if he found out that—OH MY GOD WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS ON YOUR FACE?"

Arthur—who was close to having gathered all of the pieces—looks up and seeing Matthew in the make-up that Romano and Feliciano put him in, drops the pieces on the floor, making an even bigger mess.

Matthew, knowing what his father was probably thinking, slowly raises his hands up in a "calm down" gesture and starts to help pick up the pieces.

"At least I won't be called a pretty boy, right Father?"

Arthur slowly nods his head in agreement.

"I thought that you were just going to be changed into some slightly feminine clothes—but to see that they did the entire ensemble—it really makes you look more like a girl instead of a bishouen."

He shakes his head in amazement.

"Your Papa scares me sometimes with the stuff that he says."

Matthew sighs.

"Alfred says that Papa should be a fashion consultant if he keeps going at it like this."

Arthur shakes his head.

"You know that France wouldn't do it if it meant having to stop messing around with the people working here at À Deux."

After they've collected all of the pieces, Arthur walks Matthew over to where France said he would want Matthew to be at.

"Why are we sitting here Father? I thought that Papa wanted to see me?"

Arthur stands right next to Matthew, making sure that he stays put for the next part.

"France is going to come over here right now. He wanted you to be waiting here so that you know who his friend is. That and France doesn't want you to be giving his friend one too many drinks. Do you understand?"

Matthew nods.

"Do you think that Papa's friend is a girl?"

Arthur, who was checking from his phone about the songs playing tonight, looks up at Matthew in surprise.

"What makes you think that it's a girl?"

Matthew shrugs.

"Since Romano and Feliciano dressed me up in girl clothes and put make-up on me, I got the impression that it's a girl."

Arthur mulls that thought over.

"And are you okay with that?"

Matthew shrugs nonchalantly.

"She's going to find out that I'm a guy, so I don't see the point in doing all of this—" he points to his clothes and make-up, "—if she's going to see right through it automatically."

"Do you know the stats for tonight?"

Matthew nods his head.

"Yes Father. I just have to make sure to not let Martha have too much free reign. You'll call Ludwig up if Hank tries anything with Sebastian and Erika again right?"

Arthur nods his head, ready to give Matthew some advice, when he sees France heading over to where they are currently seated at.

And he's found his friend, if the look of those leather pants is anything to go by, that is.

Arthur waves his hand in the air, hoping that France is able to see him in this crowd.

France—who just so happened to have been looking in Arthur's general direction—sees Arthur and waves back, telling the group that their table is over there.

"Thank God! My fucking feet hurt from walking all over the place!"

Elizaveth and Roderich roll their eyes at Gilbert's comment.

France just laughs it off.

"Do you mind if I show you my daughter now Gilbert?"

Gilbert, who was making fun of Roderich's glasses, looks over at France.

"Isn't that what we came here for France?"

Gilbert says, making sure that he was pronunciating every single word slowly.

France nods his head enthusiastically.

"Well, you better be because there's my Mattie-dear right there! She's the one in blue!"

France says, making sure that he was a couple of steps away from the table and not within hearing distance from Matthew.

Gilbert, Roderich, and Elizaveth all focus their attention on Matthew.

Matthew was staring at France in confusion before he realized three things:

1). the woman that was supposedly France's friend was staring at him with a friendly vibe

2). the guy with silver hair was staring way too hard for Matthew's taste

3). did he really convince them that he's a girl?

Matthew sighs before giving a shy smile at the group, standing and making his way over to Elizaveth.

"Hello, my name is Matilda."

Insert really shy smile.

Elizaveth, looking smugly at Gilbert, wraps her hands around Matthew and hugs him.

Surprised at how friendly she was being, Matthew tried giving back the hug.

"I'm Elizaveth! This is my fiancé Roderich and my step-brother Gilbert."

Elizaveth says, releasing Matthew, pointing to Roderich on her left and at Gilbert on her left.

Matthew, trying his best not to feel intimidated, shakes hands with Roderich.

"Hello there."

Roderich gives Matthew a shy smile too.

"Hello."

Matthew was about to shake hands with Gilbert, when France goes in front of him.

"Mattie-dear where have you been~? I had to leave Arthur here in order to find you~!"

Both Matthew and Arthur snort at France's comment, making France sniff off-handedly.

"Papa, you should know by now that when you exaggerate stuff, you leave out the stuff that matters…"

"What are you talking about~? I do _not_ leave out important information! When have I _ever_ done such a thing~?"

Matthew and Arthur look at each other for a good five seconds.

"Two minutes ago?"

France sniffs.

"Who knew that the most famous bartender of À Deux would end up becoming so rude to their Papa~?"

Gilbert laughs at France's display, not noticing Elizaveth signaling Roderich that Matthew's the person that they're looking for.

"Did you say bartender? As in the same bartender who gave me a Strawberry Virgin Piña Colada with the rim covered in sugar and a pineapple slice on the side that one Saturday Karaoke Night?"

Matthew, who was trying to pull away from France, stops upon finally recognizing Elizaveth and Roderich.

"You're the one who wanted more strawberries instead of the actually drink since he—" points at Roderich, "—only wanted an iced tea because someone was playing some rock music and it was getting him irritated!"

Matthew finishes, watching as recognition flashes in Roderich's eyes and Elizaveth squealing at confirming what she assumed at the beginning.

"I thought I felt as if I've seen you before!"

Elizaveth says, bringing Matthew in for another hug, not noticing Gilbert's mouth go slack at the thought that France's daughter was the supposedly famous bartender.

He hopes that it's the only surprise of the night.

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"So after I like left them, I started to like look for Toris since I like needed to ask him something, but then I like remembered that I was supposed to like report to you with like the stats for the like night. After that, I like remembered that I was like forgetting to like give Feliciano back his like mascara, so I like start coming over here but I like saw Arthur and France making-out and decided to like come back right now!"

Felik says, smiling and nibbling on a Rice Crispy Treat® as he sees Romano pacing back and forth from behind his desk.

Romano sighs.

"Does Matthew know anything about the details for tonight?"

Felik shakes his head.

"Surprisingly, he was more concerned with like why you and Feliciano were like putting make-up on him—by the way, it's like so totally chic on him!—and why he was put in those clothes, so he wasn't like interested in much else."

Romano nods his head.

"Is that it?"

Felik checks his phone one more time.

"Yup!"

He starts to walk to the door.

"I'm like going now; Elizaveth is most likely going to be like wondering like where the hell am I. See ya in a few minutes!"

He closes the door behind him.

"Like, I sooo need to like buy a new Gucci® purse if like Toris does that again. I just like finished buying that bag like a few days ago…"

Felik mutters, scanning the tables to see where Matthew was currently sitting at.

"I thought I felt as if I've seen you before!"

Hearing that comment, Felik looks over to his right, and sees Gilbert getting blocked from meeting Matthew.

Smirking at how coy Elizaveth was being, Felik walks over to Matthew.

"Like I've been like looking all over the place for you Mattie!"

Matthew surprised that Felik got there out of the blue, walks up to Felik and gets pulled into a bear hug.

"Hey you! I've just been talking to Elizaveth right here and—"

"Felik?"

Elizaveth says, looking over Roderich's shoulder, interrupting whatever Matthew was going to say.

"Liz?"

Felik says back, slightly shoving Matthew into Gilbert's arms, and hugs Elizaveth around her waist.

"This almost seems planned…"

Matthew comments, not noticing that he was in Gilbert's grasp, as he watches Elizaveth talking to Felik like a hundred words per minute and Felik responding just as quickly back to Elizaveth making everyone wonder how well they know one another to be talking so fast—let alone understand what the other person is even saying.

"You know, you're free to get out of my arms at any moment."

Gilbert mentions, hoping that Matthew doesn't since he's enjoying how Matthew feels in his arms.

"E-Eh? O-Oh! I'm sorry!"

Matthew says, finally noticing that he was being held with his back against Gilbert's torso, squeaking as he tries to scramble away.

Gilbert laughs, releasing Matthew, and helping him sit down by the chairs near the table.

"Thank you."

Matthew says, completely oblivious to France and Arthur slowly walking away from the scene, giving Gilbert a small smile.

Gilbert laughs.

"Anytime you need someone to help you up, just call me over and I'll help!"

Matthew laughs, trying to cover it with a cough.

"How do you know I'm going to need help?"

Matthew retorts back, making sure to look at Gilbert in the eye.

Gilbert grins.

"My awesomeness knows no bounds."

At Matthew's confused stare, Gilbert elaborates.

"It's like asking 'Why do you sing?' You sing because you know. The same goes for my awesomeness."

Matthew laughs, not sure what the whole point of the explanation was, and smacks Gilbert on the arm.

"You're funny!"

Gilbert smirks.

"I try my best to be whenever I see a cutie around."

Matthew blushes, not sure how to take that comment, averting his eyes from Gilbert and watching the customers moving up and about on the dance floor.

"I don't see one, do you?"

Matthew comments, knowing that he was playing the whole 'I don't think that I'm pretty enough' card, but tries to see if Gilbert would try to make him feel better.

He laughs.

"Are you shitting me? You're fucking gorgeous enough that I'm pulling most of these cheesy lines out of my ass! How does that make you feel now?"

Gilbert says, running his left hand through his hair, knowing that he's telling the truth.

Matthew looks at Gilbert in surprise.

"I thought that you were going to say something even cheesier than that…"

Matthew remarks, making sure he was grinning, letting Gilbert know that he was messing around with him about the whole insecurity comment.

Gilbert grins.

"You're not someone to mess around with."

Matthew shakes his head, resting it on his hands in front of him, as he stares at Gilbert from his left.

"I never said that I was."

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

Romano sighs, after seeing Felik close the door behind him, and walks up to the restroom next to his well-hidden closet.

"At least Matthew won't be oblivious to the entire bet by the time midnight comes rolling around…"

Romano mutters, reaching to open the handle on the restroom door, not focusing on how it slowly starts to open by itself.

"Feliciano! Are you done in there? I thought you said that you were done chang—"

Romano pauses, letting the door swing open, as he sees what made Feliciano stall for so long.

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT BRINGING IN POTATO BASTARD NUMBER ONE IN THE FUCKING RESTROOM WITH YOU?"

Feliciano, who was holding Ludwig behind him in a protective stance, tries his best to not cower in fear of his fratello's angry voice.

"LET ALONE MAKE-OUT IN MY FUCKING PERSONALIZED RESTROOM?"

Feliciano cringes, silently shoving Ludwig out the door as Romano shouts more embarrassing things.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU THAT THE FUCKING POTATO STAYS _OUTSIDE_ OF THE CLUB NOT _INSIDE_! WHERE THE HELL IS HE?"

Romano shouts, looking at Feliciano expectantly, with his arms crossed and standing in front of Feliciano intimidatingly.

Feliciano just shrugs at Romano, looking at the ceiling and then at the floor, before he gives his best "Deh~!" look at Romano.

Romano scoffs.

"I know that you brought him in the restroom. Where is he?"

Feliciano tilts his head to the side.

"Isn't Ludwig outside~?"

Romano groans.

"Why do you like to mess with me like that?"

Feliciano smiles, trying to give Romano a comforting hug.

"I was getting his opinion on my outfit~! I wanted to know if he liked it or not!"

Romano just shakes his head.

"So what did he say?"

Romano grounds out.

Feliciano smirks, flipping his hair, as he shakes his hips.

"Oh, he _likes it_ alright."

"THAT'S IT! OUT OF MY OFFICE! NOW!"

Romano snaps, shoving Feliciano out the door, making sure that he grabs the bullhorn on his way out.

"Ahahahahahahahhahahah~! You know that I was kidding right?"

Feliciano says, his laughter bubbling up again at seeing Romano's flushed face, as he makes his way over to the dance floor.

"So where are we going to meet up next? Nataliya said that it was going to be a secret—but she only told Heracles! Do you know how annoying that is? And after I helped her that one time with—"

Before Felik could talk about anything else, he feels himself getting yanked away from Elizaveth and Roderich, and instantly tries to fight back.

"Calm down Felik! It's me Romano!"

Romano says, making sure that Felik's flailing body parts don't go hitting anything important, while still searching around for Matthew.

"You could have like warned me! I was about to like think that you were like someone else that like tried something earlier!"

Felik says, sighing in relief, and looking over at Elizaveth in apology.

"Text you the details?"

Elizaveth nods her head, wondering what was going to happen.

"Why is this so fucking hard? Oi—Felik—have you seen Mattie-dear anywhere?"

Romano asks, not noticing that Matthew was getting along with Gilbert, as he looks at the blond that is currently linking his arm with his at the moment.

Felik nods his head.

"Mattie! Get your ass over here!"

Felik says, interrupting whatever conversation that Matthew and Gilbert were having, making Romano see where Matthew was.

"It's time Mattie!"

Felik says, linking his arm with Matthew's, as Romano starts to lead them to the main bar.

"You're like free to like follow us! It's about to like get interesting around here!"

Felik says, shouting over his shoulder at Elizaveth, Roderich and Gilbert, as he follows Romano and Matthew.

"What exactly am I going to be doing?"

Matthew asks, nervous about having to show any amount of skin in front of all of his customers, as Romano and Felik start to stand on top of the bar.

"Just get up here and stand right in between Felik and me, okay?"

Romano asks, making sure that Matthew's in between them, looking over at Felik.

"You get the microphone Felik."

Felik nods, looking for the wireless microphone that they use to announce winners for the karaoke contest every Saturday night, and walks to the other side of Matthew.

By this time, there was a crowd gathering around the bar instead of the dance floor, as they all wonder what exactly is going on that the manager is there on the bar instead of his office.

Checking that the volume of the bullhorn is as loud as it can be, Romano starts off.

"How are the people enjoying their evening here at À Deux?"

Romano asks, making sure to display enough enthusiasm in his voice to get the people going.

At the unanimous cheers of "Woo!" Romano smirks.

"Tonight we like have a special surprise for like all of you out there!"

Felik says, making sure that he's strutting as he speaks, making Matthew wonder how either one of them could pull off enough sex appeal to capture the attention of everyone in the club.

"That's right Felik! You see our dear friend Mattie-dear needs some help!"

Romano says, smiling as he talks.

"Yeah, Mattie-dear needs to get not _one_ but _ten_ thousand dollars!"

Felik says, emphasizing how much help Matthew is going to need.

At the public's shocked gasp, Romano makes a shushing sound, to make them calm down.

"Now, Mattie just needs it in _tips_ not as if he needs the cash right then and there. So you can all do the math there. Whoever helps give the last amount of money Mattie-dear needs to complete the ten thousand dollars gets first dib's on dating Mattie!"

Matthew looks over at Romano in horror, caught off guard that he was the ultimate prize after the bet was set and done.

Felik nods his head dramatically, wrapping an arm around Matthew waist, hugging him in a comforting way.

"Mattie needs to like get all ten thousand tips within like three months, or else it's 'bye, bye' to À Deux forever!"

Felik says, making sure to pause and capture everyone's attention at how dire the consequence is to help Matthew out in anyway the public can.

Romano nods his head, looking at Matthew and telling him to go along with the whole charade that Felik made up, pulling the bullhorn against his lips.

"Now, to make sure that there won't be a mob up here against the bar, the first person that talks to Mattie-dear will get to tip. The maximum amount of time that they could be alone is for an hour or until they are done. Is that clear everyone?"

As the crowd agrees, Romano Felik and Matthew all descend from the bar.

The first one to capture Matthew's attention was YongSoo.

Matthew smiles at YongSoo, automatically pulling out a tall glass, not noticing that Romano has left with the bullhorn and the microphone.

"Hey there Mattie~! How are you feeling today?"

Matthew laughs.

"Hey Im. Honestly? I don't know how to feel right now. Are you going to want the usual?"

YongSoo nods his head, trying his best to look Matthew in the eyes, but having automatically focused on the blouse that he was wearing.

Matthew sighs, knowing that YongSoo was staring at his chest, trying his best to mix the Long Islanded Iced Tea as quickly as possible and hand it over to YongSoo.

"Thanks Matt. Here's a little something."

YongSoo says, giving Matthew his first tip, making Matthew check how much he's willing to give Matthew right off the bat.

Maple.

"_F-F-F-Five hundred dollars?_ Isn't that a bit too much for you to leave behind as a tip?"

Matthew says, trying to give it back.

YongSoo shakes his head.

"I've got plenty at the house; besides, I'm only giving that much away because you don't know how cute your looks are."

YongSoo says, patting Mattie on the shoulder, taking a long drink and placing the drink back on the bar.

"See you around kid."

Matthew just numbly nods his head, shocked that he got so much right off the bat.

"Eh? Okay, okay. I'm going over there right now. Yes, I see him. Okay. Bye."

A blond man sighs, leaning against the bar, catching Matthew's attention since he's staring right at him.

"Can I help you…?"

"I would like an extra wet mojito—heavy on the vodka."

The bespectacled blond says, rubbing his temples as Matthew does as asked.

"There you are."

Matthew says, sliding the mojito towards the blond man, hoping that he won't have another person tip him right after YongSoo.

"My name's Edward."

The blond man—Edward—offers, catching Matthew off guard, as he starts sipping his mojito.

"Matthew."

Edward sighs.

"Yeah, Felik said you would be."

Matthew looks over at Felik, who was busy trying to get back the Bacardi® from Hank, and then back at Edward.

Edward nods his head.

"I'm only doing this because Felik told me to. So, here you go."

Edward gives Matthew the same amount as YongSoo.

Matthew's eyes bulge out.

"A-A-Are you serious? I can't accept this so soon! Please take this back!"

Matthew says, pushing the five one hundred dollar bills back at Edward, shaking his head while doing so.

Edward laughs.

"Felik said that you would refuse, but not this cutely! You can keep it; I work as a dentist anyway. It's not as if though I'm wasting my money on anything illogical. Have a goodnight."

Edward says, pushing his empty glass towards Matthew, moving to get up and walks back the way he came from.

Matthew looks at the two empty glasses left side-by-side, and sighs.

He starts cleaning the glasses, careful to keep an ear out for Felik if Hank decides to be rough-housing tonight.

"_You have such a nice smile, why don't you smile more often?"_

_Gilbert asks, leaning slightly closer to Matthew, making sure to leave enough room in case Matthew didn't like the sudden closeness._

Matthew blushes.

'_Now was not the time to be thinking about that at all!_'

Matthew sighs.

'_Then why was I thinking about it? It's not as if I'm attracted by him, right? Right. He just thought that I was a girl and he probably thought that if he sweet-talked me into coming home with him, he would have found out that I'm not _really_ a girl as these clothes and make-up try to make me become. Yeah, that's probably it. He got fooled with the appearance, that he didn't bother seeing if I was acting like a girl or not._'

Matthew snorts.

'_If he paid attention to how I was bartending, he would have known right away that I'm not a girl. Stupid Gilbert with his stupid impressions about me being a stupid girl. I just want to go home now. Forget the rest of the night, I just want to go to sleep and not bother to remember the rest of this night…_'

"Hey you."

Matthew, who was just finishing putting back the drinks in the proper order before Felik fucked it up earlier, looks up in confusion at the person speaking to him.

He looks to his left, then at his right.

Yep, he was definitely talking to Matthew.

"Matthew. The name's Matthew."

Matthew states, looking at the guy in exasperation, hoping that the guy would just order something and leave already.

"Right."

He says, making Matthew wonder if he was Chinese or something.

Judging by how the guy was a brunet with slanted eyes and wearing a kimono, he would guess he was Chinese or Asian.

"Do you know Yao?"

The guy asks, throwing Matthew off-guard.

"Yao? Yeah, he lets me hold on to some of his music in case he forgets to bring it to the club."

Matthew says, wondering why the guy is asking such random questions.

"Hm. So how do I do this? Do I have to order something first or can I give you the money and then leave?"

Matthew stares at the guy in confusion before he understands what the guy was saying.

"What's your name?"

Matthew asks, hoping that the guy would just give his name and tell him what he wants to drink.

"Li Xiao. So how do I do this? This is my first time coming into this club…"

Li Xiao says, his indifferent eyes not giving away his embarrassment at the moment.

Matthew offers a small smile at Li Xiao.

"You order something to drink and then you hand over the tip."

Li Xiao nods, thinking about what he should order, as he sits down on the seat in front of him.

"Does it have to be an alcoholic drink or can it just be a normal drink?"

Matthew shakes his head.

"It can be either or; it really doesn't matter. As long as you get something to drink, you can tip me."

Li Xiao nods.

"Then I'll have some vodka with a hint of orange juice."

Matthew, startled that this person would automatically hit the hard drinks right away, starts to make the drink.

"How old are you Li Xiao? You look a little bit too young to be at a club."

Matthew says, hoping that Li Xiao won't notice that his drink may take longer to make than the other usual ones and that he was going to have to start some small talk.

Li Xiao shrugs his shoulders.

"Just barely turned twenty-one last week; but I've been taste testing since I was eighteen."

Matthew nods his head, looking for the right glass to put Li Xiao's drink in.

"Here you go; hopefully it's not too bitter. I had someone complain to me that it was too bitter."

Matthew says, sliding the drink over.

Li Xiao carefully sips it.

"Whoever told you that was obviously trying too hard to be an ass."

Matthew shakes his head.

"When it's a former ex-boyfriend of your parents, they're bound to be assholes."

"Ouch, well that must have been a slap to your parents' faces."

Matthew laughs.

"Not when they're so into each other. They could hardly care; as long as it doesn't interfere with their sex life, they don't care."

Li Xiao shakes his head.

"Sometimes blunt honesty isn't always a good thing."

Matthew laughs, making Li Xiao twitch a smile.

Finishing his drink, Li Xiao gets up.

"I would really hate for you to never show up in this club again; you're the only sane person by far that I actually don't hate on the first impression."

Matthew slowly shakes his head, smiling as he does so.

"Well, how much did the other two give you?"

Li Xiao asks, paying for his drink.

Matthew hesitates, wondering if he should answer Li Xiao's comment.

"Ah, well, hopefully this will make up for it."

He slides some money over to Matthew across the bar.

"It was nice seeing you Matthew. I hope you win."

Li Xiao says, calling back over his shoulder.

Matthew laughs, reaching over the money that Li Xiao left.

Upon seeing how much Li Xiao tipped him on, Matthew starts laughing hysterically.

Felik, who was near Matthew in order to get the vodka, looks over at Matthew.

"Everything like okay over here?"

Matthew nods his head.

"My first three customers each gave me a five hundred dollar tip, and it's not even near closing time!"

* * *

><p><strong>Inspirational music for this chapter: Cassie (Acoustic), Fully Alive (Acoustic), Sorrow, Red Sam, In the Dark, Chasm, and Set Apart This Dream by Flyleaf; Raise Your Weapon (Radio Edit) by Deadmau5; For Your Entertainment by Adam Lambert; Rashiku Ikimasho by Meu; Pins and Needles, Blue, and Looking Glass by The Birthday Massacre.<strong>

**In case you were wondering who is who:**

**Li Xiao – Hong Kong**

**Im YongSoo – South Korea**

**Berwald – Sweden**

**Tino – Finland**

**Bella – Belgium**

**Michelle – Seychelles**

**Gupta Muhammad Hassan – Egypt**

**Sadik Adnan – Turkey**

**Caroline – Monaco**

**Edward – Estonia**

**Felik – Poland**

**Katyusha – Ukraine**

**Toris – Lithuania**

**Matthew Williams – Canada**

**Alfred F. Jones – America/U.S.A.**

**Arthur Kirkland – England/UK/Britain**

**François Bonnefy – France**

**Ivan Braginski – Russia**

**Nataliya – Belarus**

**Heracles Karpusi – Greece**

**Kiku Honda – Japan**

**Antonio Carriedo Fernandez – Spain**

**Lovino (Romano) Vargas – South Italy**

**Feliciano Veneciano Vargas – North Italy**

**Ludwig Beilschmidt – West Germany**

**Gilbert Beilschmidt – East Germany**

**Elizaveth Hédèvery – Hungary**

**Roderich Edelstine – Austria**


	10. Maki Yaki!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Celeste Bradley's Liars Club**

**Inspiration? My new glasses =w=**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Ten – Heracles<strong>_

"_What's your name?"_

_He looks at the person talking to him, wondering why anyone would bother talking to him—let alone want to talk in a loud voice in the library at DeVry® University._

"_Yes, I'm asking you what your name is. Normally when someone asks what another person's name is, the person asked answers back."_

_The speaker says, making sure that he was focusing Matthew with a steady stare._

_Matthew gulps, suddenly feeling nervous about answering, not use to someone looking so intently at him._

"_M-Matthew, my name is Matthew. A-And your name would be?"_

_Matthew asks, trying his best to keep the surprise out of his voice._

_The speaker smiles at him, making Matthew's earlier tension leave temporarily._

'_He has a really warm smile…'_

"_My name is_. It's nice to meet you Matthew."_

_The speaker says, giving Matthew a dazzling smile, making Matthew blush in embarrassment._

"_Mind if I sat next to you Matthew?"_

_The person asks, making Matthew automatically shake his head, not noticing that a group of people near the back of the library were smirking at his direction._

"_N-Not at all! Please, sit down!"_

_Matthew squeaks, trying to focus on his paper, completely oblivious as to the person sitting next to him was giving a thumbs up to the people near the back of the library._

"_So what are you working on?"_

_The speaker asks innocently, knowing that Matthew was studying to become a business owner and that they were in the same economics class that was being taught by Romulus Vargas, pretending to not know what Matthew was writing about concerning quantity and demand with consumers._

_Matthew, knowing that he was probably acting too much like a nerd with how well his paper was looking like, quickly tries to cover up his paper by flipping it over and places the latest Celeste Bradley romance novel within The Liars Club Series: __The Spy__ on top of said paper._

_The speaker laughs, making Matthew feel even more like a retard for doing that in the first place, as he ruffles Matthew's hair, making him blush in embarrassment._

"_It's alright kid; I wasn't gonna like copy off of you! Just wondering what you're writing, that's all."_

_Matthew smiles at him, bringing out his paper from under his romance novel, missing the way that said person was memorizing his paper word for word as he starts to point out what he's writing about._

"_You see, when you think about demand, you would think that…"_

_And so it began…_

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"_It sounds stupid right?"_

_Matthew shakes his head._

"_Don't get the feeling that you're not funny enough, you'll get the hang of it soon enough!"_

_The person smiles at Matthew, making his heart beat in happiness._

_Even though they've known each other for a few months, it feels like they've known each other throughout their entire life._

_Or at least, that's what Matthew believes._

_He feels happy that someone besides Alfred is able to notice him and treat him as an actual individual, even if the person sitting next to him forgets his name every so often._

_Although his parents tend to forget from time to time, it's not like this was the first time someone important in his life would forget his name on purpose._

"_What are you thinking about?"_

_Matthew shakes his head, smiling at the person next to him under the oak tree outside of the library._

"_Just about my brother again."_

_The person nods his head, trying to appear as if he didn't want to know who Matthew's brother was, leaning more heavily against the tree in what to any other person would assume as boredom. But Matthew knows that it's more like exhaustion instead of boredom._

_Matthew frowns slightly, thinking it over._

_Usually, whenever he would mention Alfred in the beginning of when they first met, the person next to him would suddenly become interested and ask a million questions—making Matthew feel like he was fading into the background or something. But then he told Matthew that it was because Matthew was such a sweet person, that he wanted to know if Alfred was the same way._

_Recently though, he would notice the person not try as hard anymore, it's like that person doesn't care about wanting to hear what Matthew has to say. He was interested in Matthew…up until their last finals for Economics. After that, it seemed as if he didn't even want to be near Matthew anymore._

_As if he's done using Matthew and now he'll toss him aside and go find someone else to mess around with._

_Matthew shakes his head, thinking that he's over thinking on something that isn't there._

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"_MATTIE!"_

_Hearing a familiar voice, Matthew suddenly stops talking to the person next to him as his eyes start brightening up with joy at the thought that his most favorite person was here, and starts to run in the direction where the voice was coming from._

"_AL?"_

_Matthew shrieks, making people passing-by look at the usually quiet and reserved Matthew screaming like a normal boy of twenty, running with his arms open towards his twin._

"_MATTIE!"_

_Alfred says, running into Matthew's arms, never once noticing the dark look of possessiveness flash in Matthew's friend's blue eyes._

"_I'm so glad that you came all the way over here to see me!"_

_Matthew says making Alfred release him and smile at him with happiness._

"_Dude! Do you know how hard it was to find this campus? It was really hard!"_

_Alfred says, making sure to let Matthew know how much trouble it was to get to DeVry® in the first place._

_Matthew pouts, but quickly smirks._

"_I thought that the _Awesomely Heroic_ Alfred F. Jones wouldn't have minded to let his not-as-heroic brother bask in his _heroic_ presence!"_

_Alfred blinks at Matthew in confusion before he starts to laugh, bringing Matthew into another one of his hugs as Matthew does the same._

"_So! Who's this_ that I've heard so much about?"_

_Alfred asks looking behind Matthew, his arm around Matthew's shoulder tightening slightly, as he sees the person that Matthew was talking to before Alfred started shouting._

_Matthew starts to get nervous, hoping that Alfred likes_ as much as he does, tries to free himself from Alfred's grip._

"_T-This is_. _, this is Alfred. He's my twin brother."_

_Alfred smiles brightly, sticking his hand out to_, making sure to look into said person's eyes the entire time while doing so._

_The person gives a tentative smile, slowly bringing his hand out to shake it with Alfred's, his eyes flickering with mild disgust before they show no hint of emotion what so ever._

_Seeing the look of disgust on said person's face, Alfred tightens his grip to bone-crushing for a whole three seconds; he quickly pumps the hand in front of him and releases it, making Matthew wonder what just recently happened._

"_So…"_

_Matthew starts, hoping that he could relieve the suddenly tense atmosphere between Alfred and _._

_Alfred, happy to ignore the feeling in his gut telling him to knock the shit out of the guy before him, looks over at Matthew and starts to ask him a million questions about how he is doing at DeVry®, who his teachers are, if the assignments are too hard, and etc._

"—_and then you'll never guess what happened next! He totally thought that I came from outer space! I mean, who the hell does he think he is? He has no right to be judging someone like that right off the bat! I mean sure, I did come off as a bit too strong, but—"_

"_A _bit_? You probably came off as _too_ strong."_

_Matthew says, trying his best not to laugh at the facial expression that was placed on Alfred's face. It was like a mix between embarrassment, humiliation, and shame._

_Matthew looks at Alfred in surprise, trying his best not to seem too much like Alfred, but feels it faltering as he grins in comprehension._

"_Oh, I see…"_

_Alfred, who was busy looking at the floor, quickly looks up at Matthew in shock, before blushing in what Matthew ended up guessing as a "yes" and resumes his interest with the floor._

"_Al I'm so happy for you! I'm a bit freaked out, I will admit, but I'm happy for you none the less. As long as he makes you ha—"_

"_He's not my boyfriend Mattie."_

_Alfred said with such an intense face, that if Matthew didn't know him any better, he would have thought that he was serious. But Matthew _does_ know him well enough to tell that there was a "yet" hanging in the air, making Matthew smile at Alfred as he gives him a thumb up._

"_Fight the good fight Alfred."_

_Alfred grins at Matthew and does a thumb up of his own._

"_And that's what makes you an awesome back-up Mattie!"_

_Matthew pouts, laughing as soon as he hits Alfred on the shoulder playfully._

"_As if I would want to be _your_ back-up!"_

_Alfred gives Matthew a look of fake horror, making them both crack up at their stupidity._

"_I hate to be rude, but I have to go now. I'll see you later Matthew. It was nice seeing…your brother."_

_Both Matthew and Alfred look at the person speaking, about to say "good-bye", but both get quickly brushed off as the speaker walks at a brisk pace._

_Two pairs of eyes watch the retreating back of the speaker as he heads into what seems to be the library._

_Alfred, once confidant that the speaker was gone for good at the moment, looks at Matthew with a wide frown on his face._

"_Now I know it looks bad—"_

"Looks_? Wha—that doesn't even _begin_ to describe how much of an ass he is! You may have not noticed how he looked at me, but I sure as hell did! He looked like he didn't even want to put up with me. Lord knows how he is with _you_…"_

_Matthew clenches his fists and tries to prevent himself from punching Alfred in the face. Almost._

"_How would _you_ know? He's not the type to be social! If you've only listened to me from the beginning—"_

"_I did."_

_Matthew, having moved from the entrance of the main building and towards the parking lot to find his Smart Car®, looks at Alfred in surprise. Until he saw that Alfred was actually looking at him in a serious way._

"_How long did it take for you to realize _that_ Al? A few minutes ago, or when he didn't even introduce himself?"_

_Alfred walks up to Matthew, and knowing that he was going to punch him for what he was about to say, and grips on him hard enough for it to be confused for another bear hug. But they both know that it's to restrain Matthew from lashing out at Alfred out of anger._

_Matthew breathes in deeply. He releases his breath slowly. He closes his eyes as he nods his head to Alfred. Signaling that he was ready to hear what Alfred had to say._

"_I got the impression when you kept on avoiding on how to best describe him. When I finally saw him, I saw that he looked disgusted to deal with the brother of a fag."_

_Matthew flinched, still not over the "mild" teasing that happened to him at Franklin Roosevelt High School back in Washington D.C._

"_I know that you don't want to hear this right now, but you need to. At least listen. If you feel that it's too much pressure or that you're way in over your head, let us find out before anything bad happens to you."_

_Alfred pauses, unsure on how to say the next part without sounding like he's Matthew's parent instead of his brother._

"_And I'm not talking about you losing your virginity."_

_Alfred says slowly, noticing that Matthew froze up in embarrassment; he quickly finishes saying what he needs to before Matthew starts to realize that Alfred's grip loosened and attempts to break free._

"_I mean, you can if you want to. It's your business about that. All that I'm saying is this: know what you are getting yourself into before everything unravels before you and you're the one who ends up hurt."_

_Matthew relaxes, thinking that Alfred was going to give him the whole "Abstinence is the goal for my sweet innocent older brother!" argument. And that would be awkward on a whole different level that he's not even sure on where to begin._

"_I understand Al. I'll let you guys know if _anything_ starts to look fishy. I just hope you don't come barging in here with a death wish against the justice system…"_

_Alfred laughs at Matthew, knowing that he'll take it seriously no matter how he acts now._

"_Dad and Franny are so well-versed in the justice system Mattie! There's _no way_ that I'll end up behind bars!"_

_And insert his "Hero" laugh._

_Matthew just shakes his head, hoping what Al said wasn't true, but somehow getting the feeling that this was just the beginning…_

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"_Who."_

_Thrust._

"_Was."_

_Thrust._

"_That."_

_Shove._

_Matthew tries to ignore the way that the person above him is thrusting in him. Practically fucking his mouth as his "boyfriend" was getting a "blowjob"._

"_V-Vash!"_

_Matthew says, hoping that he would stop being irrational and leave Matthew alone, trying to slowly make his way towards the bed closest to him._

_Every single time that Vash would ask him about spending the night studying for the Economics exam held every third Friday of the month, Matthew's boyfriend would automatically start to blame Matthew for not keeping all of the men away from him._

_He called him a demirep once._

_When his anger would fade away—Matthew would always ask him why he can't let go of his jealousy when there was anything wrong in the first place—but his boyfriend would always deny having ever been violent with Matthew._

"_You're a dirty _demirep_ Matthew, and you're not even a _girl_. Then again, you look like a bishouen, so it could work out in your favor. God, to know that I've been sleeping with a _demirep_—that's what makes me the angriest; to know that you're sleeping with other guys just to pass DeVry®!"_

_Matthew ignores his hateful words, wondering why he didn't break up with him when he saw the cautious look on Alfred's eyes when he told him to keep an eye on him._

_Matthew starts to cry, feeling the inside of his mouth beginning to stretch more uncomfortably as Matthi—_

He wakes up to see Kumajirou sitting on top of his chest—which explains the heavy breathing—rubbing his face as he tries to snap out of the Memory Lane of his past.

"Hi Kumajirou, how are you feeling this morning?"

Matthew asks, hoping that he wasn't shouting in his sleep again.

Kumajirou doesn't answer, making Matthew look down and see what kept Kumajirou from talking in the first place.

He sees Kumajirou whimpering a little bit, snuggling his nose against Matthew's chest, curled up in a tight ball.

Matthew looks over at his bed-side drawer, picks up and puts on his glasses, and starts to gather Kumajirou in his arms.

"There, there. See? I'm okay, really. Don't cry Kumajirou, don't cry."

He hears Kumajirou calm his breathing, and starts to comb his fingers through Kumajirou's fur, hoping that it relaxes his tense shoulders.

"H-Hungry~"

Matthew laughs.

"Okay, I'll get you something to eat."

Kumajirou shakes his head.

"Eh? Then what's wrong?"

Matthew asks, wondering what could have made Kumajirou so startled, confusion making his eyebrows furrow.

Kumajirou points his nose in which direction what freaked him out enough to have Matthew concerned.

Curious as to what made Kumajirou so upset; he turns and looks at where he picked up his glasses from the bedside drawer. He looks around the room slowly, until he spots the reason why Kumajirou's so freaked out this earlier in the morning.

Ah, no wonder.

"You're still afraid of my cellphone Kumajirou?"

Kumajirou shakes his head, making Matthew wonder what about the phone freaked him out.

Until he heard certain sound—er, ringtone really—playing, that is.

"_Fashion  
>Put it all on me<br>Don't you want to see these clothes on me  
>Fashion<br>Put it all on me  
>I am anyone you want me to be<br>Fashion  
>Put it all on me<br>Don't you want to see these clothes on me  
>Fashion put it all on me<br>I am anyone you want me to be_—"

Kumajirou, upon re-uniting with the ringtone coming from Matthew's cellphone, starts to rub his face even harder against Matthew's chest and starts to release this high-pitched whine that starts to make Matthew laugh.

"Don't be afraid of the ringtone that I set-up for Felik! It's not that scary…Although I wonder if the text message is…"

Matthew says, leaning over the bed to get his phone, making sure that Kumajirou wasn't going to have another fit. The first message was sent while he was sleeping and what freaked out Kumajirou the first time around.

_Like Mattie hurry ur butt like ASAP!  
>How does Maki Yaki® sound 4 bfast<br>rit now? Mind if Hera, Eli, Ki-chan,  
>Tory, &amp; Nat join us 4 bfast?<br>~ Blondies4Fun_

The second text message was sent ten minutes after the first one.

_Reply ASAP!  
>Like I totally mean it Mattie!<br>~ Blondies4Fun_

Matthew starts to bust up laughing, making Kumajirou wonder what could have managed to make his master so light-hearted this morning. Recently, Kumajirou noted with some smug satisfaction, his master has been sleep-talking and having a spring in his step as he would go to work and give Kumajirou Fancy Feast®. He doesn't even _eat_ cat food! Who the fuck told his master that polar bears would like cat food? It ain't true!

His main topic that he mutters during his sleep is one word and one word only: Gilbert.

It makes Kumajirou laugh like crazy—never in front of his master, or else his master would think that he's capable of actually understanding the human language—that it's only been three days since his master has been so distracted by something else than that _man_ that his master was with before he graduated from DeVry University®.

Kumajirou frowns, noticing that his master looks a bit shaken up by what he dreamt of last night—if the way he muttered 'no' and 'stop' several times, and including the way he sounded as if he was being gagged or chocking on something—and jumping slightly when he awoke to Kumajirou pounced on his master's chest.

But it would be better to keep his theories to himself for the moment and let his master's brother know about it once those theories have been confirmed, no?

"I should probably text back my response, right Kumajirou?"

Matthew says, making sure that he's showed him what Felik sent him a few minutes ago.

Kumajirou pretends that he can read the text (when in reality he can), and furrows his eyes.

"Hungary?"

Matthew laughs, petting Kumajirou behind the ears.

"I should huh? Well, I'll do that first, and then I'll cook you something to eat. How does Fancy Feast® sound to you?"

Kumajirou makes a look of disgust, making Matthew laugh.

"Alright then; no more Fancy Feast® for Kumajirou. Better?"

Kumajirou eagerly nods his head as Matthew replies back to Felik's text.

_XD sounds gr8t!  
>But who's comin' again?o.o<br>~ Maple FTW_

Matthew stretches, getting ready to get out of bed, picking Kumajirou up and setting him on the floor.

He walks to his closet near the bathroom door, and decides on what he should wear today.

Not much to decide since most of his clothes are what Arthur would consider being "arrogantly raunchy"…

Matthew sighs, trying to look for the least "arrogantly raunchy" outfit that he could find.

Hearing a ringtone that wasn't Felik's, Matthew makes his way over to the bedside drawer where he left his phone at.

"_I see them days are coming  
>We hear them roar<br>They'll bring the end upon us  
>And we will have no mercy no more<br>Then you'll search for your soul salvation  
>Our hands are bound<br>We cry out for direction  
>But only those truly lost can be found<em>"

Matthew starts to smile; knowing of only one person who has managed to set that ringtone for them, and starts to laugh at seeing how that song doesn't match how said person really is.

He lifts the phone to his ear, noticing that he found his outfit for the day already on his bed (courtesy of Kumajirou).

"Hello?"

"…_Hello Matthew…How are you on this nicely weathered morning…?_"

Matthew tries to suppress a laugh as he's holding the phone close to his ear, picturing a certain Asian man lingering in the background, listening in on the conversation.

"I'm doing okay Heracles. I was suddenly woken up by Felik sending me a text message about wanting to eat breakfast at Maki Yaki®…?"

"_Ah…well, you know how Felik is. _Would_ you mind eating breakfast with us?_"

Matthew frowns, not understanding why Heracles was calling him instead of sending him a text message like Felik. Or why he was cutting right to the chase instead of stalling like it was to do within his nature.

"Uh…not that I don't mind…but why the sudden interest of whether or not I'm going to attend?"

Matthew says while making his way to the bathroom and bringing out a towel as Kumajirou started to drag around Matthew's usual shampoo and other hair products that he likes to use in the bathroom.

"…_Hm…you do have a point there. Hold on…let me see if I can get Kiku on the phone to answer your question…_"

Matthew hears some fumbling on the other side of the phone, a loud shriek, a thump, and then finally a minute of pure non-static silence.

"_H-Hello?_"

Matthew tries to stifle a laugh at hearing a "Show him how it's done Kiku!" and a cat call going on in the background after the speaker said hello.

"Kiku?"

"_Hello Matthew…I bet you're wondering why Heracles and Felik are bothering you so early in the morning, yes?_"

Matthew nods his head, trying not to smile at Kiku's directive approach when someone is wondering what is going on. Unlike Heracles who stalls and makes you wonder if you're the one who's asking the questions when it's really the other way around; Kiku answers with one of his lands famous proverbs and when you don't understand what he said, he'll answer you with politeness that makes you feel rude for asking in the first place. If you've managed to displease him, of course.

"Ah, yes Kiku. Obviously there has to be a reason why everyone wants me to go to Maki Yaki®. I'm just wondering who the 'everybody' that Felik was mentioning was…Is that too much to ask?"

He hears Kiku agree, but he can also hear Felik talking in the background about something relating to fashion and who knows what else.

"_If I told you who is going to join us, will you still be willing to come along?_"

Matthew, hearing the genuine concern in Kiku's voice, thinks about what Kiku is referring to.

Does he really want to know ahead of time to see who's coming, making his reactions not as authentically him…

Or does he want to be kept in the dark and be shocked as to who showed up at the likely rushed breakfast meeting just for the sake of eating together with Matthew?

"…_Matthew?_"

Matthew snaps out of the train of thought that he managed to put himself in, and looks at the phone meekly.

"Sorry about that Kiku, I was just thinking intensely about the options that you gave me…"

"_Options? Ah, I see. Well—I don't mean to be rude or anything—but I was wondering what you have decided on!_"

Matthew giggles, knowing that on the other side of the phone call Kiku was blushing and flustering like crazy, most likely catching the attention of Heracles at seeing what has managed to make Kiku have such a determined look on his face..

"Calm down Kiku. Yes I've decided; I'd rather not hear who's coming after all. I'll see you guys in half an hour from now?"

Hearing Kiku calm down and sounding pleased with his answer, Matthew releases a few giggles as he awaits what everyone over at the sushi joint answered.

"…_Matthew?_"

Heracles got his phone back apparently.

"Yeah?"

"_Kiku says that something urgent called his attention at the Maki Yaki®, so he says "thank you for giving a straight answer and not beating around the bush." It looks like Felik might pick a fight with one of the owners here, so I guess we'll see you at…?_"

Matthew laughs at Heracles calm explanation of the havoc that's most likely worse than what he's trying to downplay it as.

"Tell Kiku that the same could be said about him. Good luck with Felik. I'll be there in half an hour Heracles, so see you until then."

_CLICK!_

Now if only he could find his shoes with the—

"Kumajirou! What did you do with my Converse?"

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"That's not the only thing that's making you worried, I take it?"

Roderich asks, noticing that the tension between Gilbert's shoulders hasn't lessened ever since they both started their shift.

Gilbert grimances at having to tell Roderich about his doubts concerning…

"It's mostly that Roderich. I just wondered how long you can keep going with this shit like it doesn't even exist!"

Roderich shakes his head, amazed at how Gilbert manages to change the topic about—

"What on earth are you talking about this time Gilbert?"

Roderich says, sighing as he starts to clean up the mess on the table nearest to the window fifteen feet away from the doors into the entrance to Canorous.

Gilbert, knowing that he _wasn't_ changing the topic of conversation going on between the two of them, grins as he rests his hip against the side of the table with the most mess. Intentionally making Roderich force himself to stop what he was doing in order to fully pay attention to him.

When Gilbert wants attention, Gilbert gets attention.

Sometimes it depends on the situation.

Or if Elizaveth feels like she's in the mood to indulge Gilbert.

"Hm?"

Gilbert asks, paying attention to the stack of papers currently in his possession, as he looks up at Roderich in confusion.

Roderich, trying his best to not walk over to Gilbert and smack him with the tray filled with plates, calmly tries to release his breath and mentally counts to ten before answering Gilbert's question.

"As you were saying Gilbert?"

Gilbert smirks, knowing that he's pushed Roderich's button one too many times, automatically leans over the table, and while having his attention Gilbert puts down the tray on top of the table.

"Wha—? Oh, right! _Damn Rod_! How the hell can you stand knowing that Lutz could've told her parents where we're living at? Hell, how would you feel if they started to hunt you down and demanded to know if you are 'suitable enough' to marry their 'dearest Elizaveth'?"

If it weren't for the determined face and serious tone, Roderich would have scoffed at the way Gilbert used his words to described what bothered him into two sentences.

It just so happens that instead of laughter building up in his throat, dread seems to fill the gap at an alarmingly fast rate.

Gilbert, looking as if he didn't want to have this discussion either, moves on to the one before this.

"Moving on! So, since she obviously hasn't found it yet, the Awesomeness That Is I would like to know where the hell you hid it. I mean fuck, even I can't find it! Do you know how _NOT _awesome that is, not knowing where his beloved sister's _fiancé_ placed the stupid—"

"Gilbert."

Gil—ready to mention where he has searched—notices Roderich gently place his hand on Gilbert's shoulder, giving him a silent understanding of what Gilbert was trying to warn him about and appreciating what he was trying to do.

Roderich offers Gilbert a smile, which he returns back in earnest.

"No matter what happens, I wouldn't want them to force Liz to marry a complete stranger that _neither_ of us would find suitable for her. I've gotten used to how happy the two of you are together that if I saw another person being near her I would gag. Uh…that is…because you already have my Awesome Blessing! Yeah! And it would suck to know that my Awesome Blessing would mean nothing if the both of you don't end up getting married! So there."

Roderich, who left his hand on Gilbert's shoulder, looks at him in confusion, and starts to laugh at how 'Awesome' he was trying to be.

Gilbert eventually joins in on the laughter, but that's because he didn't want to leave Roderich hanging.

If only Roderich would believe it…

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"Did I ever tell you how much you turn me on with just kissing you _mon lapin_?"

France mentions, walking casually from the doorway leading into Romano's office, making sure that said Italian wasn't around telling—_nagging_—at them what they could and shouldn't do inside of said office.

"He should be _grateful_ that I hired him on the spot! _Mon Dieu_, I automatically accepted him because he looked like the kind of person who can move his body to his advantage. If I had known that he would have passed his knowledge of sensual dancing—" He doesn't like to call it 'pole dancing'. It sounds "_très très moche_" according to him "—to his younger brother, and keep reminding me about not being allowed to touch my cute little rabbit—! What agony~!"

_SMACK!_

France blinks, wondering how the World's Largest Encyclopedia ended up hitting him on the head and leaving a bloody trail from his forehead to his cheek.

Not that he could see it.

The flow of blood could be felt as it makes its way to the edge of his jaw leaves him with the impression that it was…

"I leave you for not even a minute and you are already trying to fire one of our best employees just because he does not shake his rump with the beat of the music anymore? What the bloody hell is with you?"

France smiles, knowing of only one person who has that accent and would treat him like that right off the bat.

He turns around, and brings his annoyed gentleman into his arms and gives him a quick peck to his forehead, nuzzling his neck as he tries to think of what to say.

Arthur caught completely off-guard at France being so affectionate, blushes and tries to get him away.

"Get off you bugger!"

France smiles, wrapping his arms around Arthur's waist and bringing his mouth near the pulsing nerve on Arthur's neck with a soft kiss as they go more into the office.

"Oh I will. That is, after I get you off first, _non_~?"

Insert creepy smile.

Arthur, knowing what would happen if he encouraged it even more, breaks free from France's hold (it was a gentle hold anyway) and runs to Romano's chair; forcing France to sit on the other side of the desk, making appear as if Arthur was the one who owned the office, if that smug smile was anything to go by.

Arthur, knowing that France was going to be in one of his weird fetishes, sighs before lacing together his fingers in front of him and resting his head on top of his hands, looking at France right in the eye.

"Well?"

Arthur asks, hoping that France will understand (this time) about what he's referring to.

"Hm? Oh, yes! Well, the bet is hitting off better than to what I originally thought it was going to be~! You should have seen the look on our dear Mathieu's face! He looked like he's never seen fifteen hundred dollars before~! And the way Gil—"

"I was not asking you about that you stupid frog! What I meant was if you have heard anything recently about Matthew's ex."

At this, France stops talking about "Mathieu's stylish clothes" and looks at the bathroom door with sudden interest before looking back at Arthur in disgust.

"I don't fuckin' _bother_ knowing about what that sick fuck did to my Mathieu. I don't care about what he does, who he's with or where he is."

France said, sticking his nose in the air as he said that with as much hatred as he could.

Before he could even register what had happened, France feels himself getting pulled out of his chair roughly, is harshly thrown towards the nearest wall, and feels Arthur choking him; preventing him to breathe normally.

Did he mention how rough Arthur was being?

Well, he was.

"That is not what I asked you."

Arthur grounded out, squeezing France's throat on every single word.

"I demand to know where he is at the moment. So that he can stay away from Matthew. Do I make myself clear?"

France, who at this point was willing to let Arthur fuck him right then and there, enthusiastically (or as enthusiastically as he could while being choked) nodded his head as Arthur slowly released France's throat and walked back two steps.

Trying to not sound like he was on the verge of death, France tries to regulate his breathing in a non-dramatic way.

Almost being the key word.

"Now, where is he right now?"

Arthur asked, knowing that the Frenchman was going to take forever to answer him if he took his sweet ass time breathing again.

"I-I don't know where he is at the moment. Not since the last time you remembered to ask me _mon cher_."

Arthur frowns, hoping that it wasn't correct.

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"—so then I mentioned that I was going to kick his ass, Rod said—"

"_Do you really have to tell me what happened to the both of you at work _again_?_"

Elizaveth says, knowing that Gilbert wasn't paying attention to her over the phone.

"Was? Oh, well what do you want me to say? That we were talking about floral patterns and were putting flower crowns on each other's heads while singing "Kokoro"? Fuck Liz, we may be men, but that doesn't mean that we're gay!"

Elizaveth tries to hold in a laugh, knowing that if she told Gilbert that he'll _become_ gay he would scream "Red Rum!" and run the other way.

"_So why are you calling _me_ during your break? Not that I mind you giving me all of this sibling attention—but don't you think that you should be calling _Matilda_ instead of me? Just saying~_"

Gilbert groans, knowing that Liz only said that to tease him.

Immensely.

"Idon'thavehernumber."

"_Was?_"

"I said: I. Don't. Have. Her. _Number_."

"_Oh~ Well, why didn't you say so~? _I_ have her number, so why don't _you_ have it instead?_"

Gilbert wanted to smack his head against the wall.

"And how the hell did you get her number?"

"_Oh…I have my ways~_"

"Like hell you do. How'd you do it? Did you trick her into doing it? Because if you did—"

He hears laughter on the other end of the line.

"_Silly Gilly! I just asked if she wanted to swap numbers and she said yes._" _ Or at least I will have her number by the end of the day…_

Gilbert just shook his head, knowing better than to ask her for more of an explanation.

"So…"

"_Ah yes. I wanted to ask you something._"

Gilbert groans.

"If this is about what I cooked last night—"

"_No no. It has nothing to do with that. Although, now I'm wondering what I was eating—_"

"Get on with it Liz."

More laughter was heard over the phone.

"_Right! What were you and Roddy talking about him "wanting to buy something"? Were you talking about clothes or was that something different?_"

Gilbert almost dropped his cell phone to the tiled floor.

"W-Was? We were talking about the clothes that I was gonna pick out and somewhat hearing his opinions. W-Why do you ask?"

"_Hm…I was wondering what took you guys _five hours_ to shop a suitable outfit for your date a couple of days ago…_"

Gilbert gulps, knowing that he was caught.

"We were just shopping for clothes. Although, we did go into Victoria's Secret® and I made him try on these—"

"_And you didn't take any pictures? What kind of brother are you? You should've taken my camera!_"

Gilbert laughs, glad that Elizaveth accepted the distraction.

"Ja, don't worry about it. I took a couple of them. Just…don't tell Roderich that I took them. You know the Bro Code and that stuff…."

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"—so then I like found out that Mattie was you know, like dating you-know-who and I was all like 'OMG like _no_ way!' Then I noticed that Mattie looked uncomfortable being near him…right after our midterms. It was weird. Why do you ask Lorelei?"

Felik, who was all too glad to tell Kate and Lorelei Matthew's personal story, was leaning against the back of his chair nibbling on some crackers that Toris gave him since he was complaining about being 'like starved to death!'

Lorelei, ready to answer Felik's question, gets cut off by Kate who stuffs her face with some of Felik's crackers.

"I finally got Michelle to have oral."

Awkward pause.

Felik swallows his cracker slowly.

"What?"

Kate, knowing that Felik wanted her to repeat it again, smirks.

"I gave Michelle oral. It's her most favorite thing to do now. So a certain blond owes me some money~"

She grins at Felik.

"Like hell you did woman! I like said that I like need to hear it from her! It like doesn't count if you can't like make her tell me."

Felik says, crossing his arms and pouting like a little kid, knowing that he didn't want to give his last remaining ten dollars to her bluff.

Kate, while flipping her blonde hair behind one shoulder with attitude, grins at Felik as she pulls out her phone and starts dialing Michelle's number in front of his startled face.

Knowing that Kate did that on purpose to distract Felik, Lorelei automatically shoves Kate off of her seat and smiles an extremely sweet smile in Felik's general direction.

He blinks at Lorelei in confusion.

"I was _asking_ because I was wondering why Mattie looked so hesitant to be flirting to a lot—and I mean a _lot_—of guys _and_ girls. Although, we all know that he's more comfortable talking to girls than guys, it didn't explain why it looked like he wanted to blot when there was someone giving him the 'Hungry Eyes' every now and then. That's why I asked."

Felik relaxes, at first assuming that Lorelei was asking about _his_ past instead of Mattie-dear's past, and finally nods his head.

"I didn't realize that like the three of us all went to the same college until the like rumors were claiming that you-know-who was just like using Mattie to pass Romulus Vargas's class. At the time I was like trying to get my business degree in entrepreneurship and that's when I first started to like get some classes on how to like bartend drinks properly. So yeah, there's like not much that I can like tell you about his past besides his like pathetic excuse of an ex-boyfriend."

Felik shrugs, knowing that Lorelei was going to have to ask Matthew himself about the time he spent at DeVry® and about his ex-boyfriend.

"But that doesn't explain why you keep calling his ex-boyfriend—"

"He doesn't deserve to be called by his given name. He didn't care about Mattie's so why should I even bother remembering his?"

Felik said it with disgust, knowing that his face looks like he just ate something that didn't sit well with his stomach.

Lorelei, sensing that she has over-stepped her questioning, nods at Felik's comment and doesn't ask him anymore questions.

Looking over the side of the table, both notice that Kate hasn't bothered to get back up since Lorelei pushed her and try to see if she's still there.

Yep, she is.

"Do you think that we should like see if she's okay?"

"Nah, if she wants to sleep on the floor let her. Two out of three times she does this, it turns out that she's sleeping."

Felik looks at Lorelei, silently asking her to continue with what she was saying.

"If I couldn't let Kate do what she needs, then what kind of a friend would I be? Besides, if she's not sleeping, then she's enjoying the way the floor feels on her face. I don't know why she does that, so don't give me that face Felik."

Lorelei says, knowing that Felik was going to ask her why Kate does that, so she goes back to sipping her cinnamon tea.

Felik, knowing that he's seen them act like this practically every time they hang out, decides to wisely not question this time as he goes back to nibbling on his crackers and drinking his mint tea.

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"Kesesesesesesesese! Where would you get _that_ idea from?"

"_Don't you play stupid with me Gilbert! I know that you and Roddie were talking about him getting me a wedding ring! Don't deny it!_"

Gilbert, knowing that Elizaveth was acting like a crazy bitch, pulls his cell phone away from his face and focuses on what he can do to convince her that his 'break' was over and that he needs to get back to work.

Spotting Berwald texting on his phone near where Gilbert was, he makes his way over and pretends that Elizaveth was about to hang up.

"Berwald."

Said person looks up from his texting, and sees Gilbert give him a nod. He slowly nods back, resuming his texting.

"Who are you texting?"

Berwald, knowing that he wasn't going to be left alone anytime soon, sits down on a chair so that he's at least somewhat near Gilbert's line of vision and shuts his phone.

"Ah'm t'xtin' T'no bout p'ck'n' up P'ter fr'm K'nderg'rt'n. Yoo?"

If he hadn't known Berwald for so long, he wouldn't have understood what the Swedish man was saying. But since he _does_ know what Berwald is saying, he decides to stand right in front of him so that Berwald doesn't have to strain himself to see Gilbert.

He nods, knowing about how Berwald feels about Tino and Peter getting along with one another, looks at his phone in disgust before answering.

"Besides trying to tell Liz that _there is no wedding ring_, I'm doing pretty awesomely. How's it going over on your end?"

Seeing how he was shouting the part about there being 'no wedding ring' into the phone, Berwald lets his lips twitch when Gilbert turns to look at him, letting him know that Berwald found that funny.

Berwald nods his head, giving a gruff of an "okay", making Gilbert give him a smile.

"Christian and Matthias doing okay?"

Berwald tries his best not to scowl, but Gilbert sees it and while Berwald smiles, Gilbert laughs at the scowl.

"I take it that they're as wild as ever?"

Berwald shakes his head.

"Jus' Matth's. Christ'n's th sam' as ev'r. Why do ya 'sk?"

Gilbert laughs.

"Just wondering…"

Berwald looks at the direction that Gilbert was staring at and almost laughs himself. There at the entrance to the Men's Restroom was Matthias texting, completely not paying attention that he was causing a line of men wanting to use the restroom complaining that he wasn't moving, and was busy writing something on a piece of paper against the wall with what looked to be a crayon.

Gilbert focuses his eyes as he tries to see if it really was a crayon…

"Why 's he us'n' a cr'yon fer?"

Berwald asks, not noticing Gilbert started to laugh and slipping to the floor as he was holding on to his sides.

When he looks at Gilbert, Berwald furrow's his eyebrow in confusion.

"Why ar' ya on th' gro'nd?"

"Did you see the look on his face? It looked like he was doing something important! Ten dollars says that he's helping Christian with his 'homework'. What do you say?"

Berwald thinks about it before he responds.

"Ah b't ya f've doll'rs. An' Ah s'y th't 't's a shopp'n' l'st."

Gilbert grins.

"It's a deal."

They shake hands, noticing that Matthias made his way from the restroom to where Gilbert and Berwald were seated at and grins at them as he shows them what was written on the paper.

"Guess what Chris made me do! Guess!"

Matthias says, looking from Berwald's impassive face to Gilbert's excited one.

"Show us!"

Gilbert says, hoping to be scoring some ten dollars soon enough, as they both see Matthias show them what he wrote on the paper…

And Gilbert's jaw goes slack.

Berwald gives Gilbert a smug smile.

"Ah th'nk ya ow' me f've doll'rs r'ght n'w G'lb'rt."

Gilbert, not believing his luck, fishes out a five-dollar bill and hands it over to Berwald.

Matthias, watching this exchange happen, looks over at Berwald.

"What'd you guys bet on?"

Gilbert pouts.

"We were betting to see what Christian told you to write on that piece of paper."

Berwald nods.

"An' Ah w'n."

Matthias looks at them in confusion.

"Why did you guys—"

"Isn't your break over now Matthias?"

Gilbert cuts in, hoping that Matthias takes the bait and leaves them alone.

"Wha—oh man! You're right! See you later Waldy! Gil!"

Matthias says, almost running back into Kiku's office to ask Liu what he should be doing right now, completely missing Gilbert cracking up and Berwald sighing in amazement.

"S'met'mes Ah w'nder h'w he can b' s' g'll'ble…"

Berwald says, shaking his head in mild amusement.

"I second that Berwald."

Gilbert says, also shaking his head.

"Ah g't th' feel'n' th't ya wanna ask m' s'meth'n'. Wh't 's 't 'bo't?"

Gilbert freezes, knowing that Berwald has always been able to tell when he needed to ask him something.

"I wanted to ask you if you still remembered when—"

"S'met'm's yer tah easy tah re'd Gilb'rt. Yeah, ah st'll r'm'mb'r th't. If ya st'll r'm'mb'r 't, wh't m'k's ya th'nk th't ah don't? Ah'll nev'r ferg'v' h'm fer do'n' th't to T'no."

Before Gilbert got to say anything in return, they both feel a pair of familiarly cold eyes staring at them.

Berwald turns to see who was staring and tightens his lips at seeing who it was.

"We'll talk about this some other time Berwald. Don't worry; he's not worth the fight anymore."

Gilbert whispers, slowly getting up from the floor as he sees Ivan straight in the eye. He pats Berwald on the back and gets his phone as he walks back to his working space.

"You were saying Liz?"

"_What the hell is wrong with you Gilbert! First you leave me talking to myself for fifteen minutes. Then I hear nothing but static for the next ten. And _now_ you answer? What the hell—!_"

"Let's just say that I have a quick brush with a Russian and a Swede. Does that satisfy you?"

Gilbert says, making sure that he hasn't left Ivan out of his sight.

"_Do you mean—you can't be serious! Katyusha tells me that he's a sweetheart and that—_"

"Apparently your friend's a liar. The damage may be done, but the scars are going to stay there for a while. I hope you know that. I'll talk to you later Liz. My break's over now."

"_Wait Gilbert! There's something that I wa—_"

_CLICK!_

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"So what's her type? Guys or girls?"

Kiku, not used to being the center of attention for more than five minutes, starts to get flustered and hugs Heracles in a desperate attempt to make them leave him alone.

It only caused more of a problem instead of a solution.

Seeing that Kiku wasn't going to be answering them after their twenty-fifth question, Kate looks over at Matthew and tries to hold in a laugh at how he's doing with this conversation.

He just got at their table a couple of minutes ago when they were in the middle of asking Kiku questions concerning his Vietnamese cousin's sexual orientation. To say that he was embarrassed was an understatement.

They were all seated in the far right corner of Maki Yaki®. It was a huge table where it sat Felik, Toris, Kate, and Lorelei on one side; on the other side sat Kiku, Heracles, Nataliya, and Elizaveth; leaving Matthew to sit on the only chair at the head of the table, making everyone pay attention to him.

"So…Matthew~"

Matthew tries his best to be paying attention to the menu placed in front of him, knowing that everyone wanted to know how he felt about his first night taking tips.

He sighs, knowing that they're dying with curiosity.

"Since everyone's wondering how it went for me a couple of days ago—"

"I was like sooo there Mattie, no need to tell me!"

Felik says, interrupting whatever Matthew was going to say.

He glares in Felik's direction, trying to remember what he was going to say.

"—I will just say this: I wasn't expecting to have a lot of money in tips right off the bat. And maple Felik, why did you tell your blond haired friend with the glasses to come up to me on the first night?"

Matthew asks, knowing that everyone was trying to guess the amount that he got that night, looking over at Felik in confusion and hoping that he won't be left in the dark.

The last thing that he wants is to be taking a friend of a friend's money without reason.

"Hm? Oh that. Yeah, I like so made him go since he was like going to be leaving for Egypt in a few days. I like thought that he could at least like see my friend and like help out in like some way, you know?"

Felik says, leaning over the table to give Matthew his most sincere smile, making sure that Matthew was paying attention to him.

"And before you say anything about feeling bad taking someone's money, let me show you the text that he sent me."

Felik starts rummaging through his black Gucci© bag, that Toris recently bought him, until he found his phone behind some cream eye shadow and his mascara.

"Here you go~"

He flips through it until he finds the text that he was talking about and hands it to Matthew.

_Hey Felik, thanks for letting  
>me become a part of the bet.<br>Make sure you let your friend  
>know that it was worth giving<br>him five hundred. He was cute.  
>I'll send you a picture of when<br>I'm in Egypt, okay?  
>~ TechnoLover<em>

Matthew, looking confused as to who 'TechnoLover' is, asks Felik who that is.

"It's Edward silly! You know the like blond one with the like specs? You sure are like thick-headed sometimes Mattie~!"

Matthew blushes, seeing that everyone stopped their own little side conversations in order to listen to what he and Felik were talking about.

Eavesdroppers.

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"Yo! Whatcha guys doin'?"

Alfred asks from the doorway, noticing that Arthur had France up against the wall with his hands pinned up above his head with what looks to be duct tape.

Kinky.

"What the devil are you doing at the club right now Alfred? I thought that you were going to meet up with Matthew in twenty minutes from now?"

Arthur asks, not noticing that France's mouth was taped and struggling to free himself from the bonds that Arthur placed.

Ha, it still looks kinky!

"I can't swing by and see how my parents are doing? Harsh!"

Alfred says, placing a hand over his heart and swaying a bit before falling on the couch and getting comfortable.

Arthur rolls his eyes at Alfred's attempts, remembering how he left France before Alfred showed up.

"Are you ready to talk bloody frog?"

France eagerly nods his head, and almost cried in happiness as he sees Arthur release him from the sticky confines of the tape.

Again, kinky.

"So anyways, whatcha punishing Franny for? Did he throw your sewing out the window again?"

Alfred asks, knowing that France would do that to Arthur, and seeing the horror in France's eyes only confirm of what he's saying.

Arthur, already knowing that France does that because Matthew told him, looks at Alfred in mild amusement.

"No Alfred, he didn't. He just hasn't told me anything recently about Matthew's ex-boyfriend."

Arthur says, trying to not sound as disgusted as France did a while ago.

Alfred, sitting up correctly after hearing what Arthur was asking France, starts to pace around the room.

"Did you know that Caroline is a bitch?"

Arthur resumed smacking France for some answers while France was trying to not be smacked as much, both look at Alfred in confusion as France's interrogation is put on hold for the moment.

"_Quoi?_"

"_What?_"

Both were said at the same time, so Alfred doesn't have to guess which parent said what, since what is said in one language could be translated into the other.

Alfred looks at them with all seriousness.

Translation: he nods his head as he resumes pacing around.

"She's a bitch! All out of nowhere she starts to use these big words about Greek mythology and the Seven Muses. What the fuck? I only know about _American_ stuff not all of this weird mambo-jumbo stuff! And while the names of those chicks were pretty hot, she lost me on how the hell that has to do with art and stuff. You guys understand, right?"

Alfred says, not noticing that both parents were already shaking their heads, knowing that Alfred was going nowhere with this.

Arthur tries to not rub his temples.

"I am going to pretend that I didn't hear that. What else did you want to say Alfred? As you can see, France and I are pretty occupied at the moment. We would appreciate it if you could just say what you wanted to say and—"

"Right, so I found out from one of my friends that they haven't seen _him_ for the past five months. Go figure."

Alfred says, shrugging like it didn't matter to him about what he just said.

Arthur, relieved to hear that Matthew's ex was nowhere near him at the moment, starts to untie France from the tape prison that he set up for him.

"I still want you to stay on alert concerning this. You got that France?"

Alfred, glad that the "report" seemed to satisfy Arthur for the moment, starts to walk out of the office.

"Hey I have a lunch date with Vanya, so I'll be back before my shift starts! See ya~!"

Arthur, who was going to scold France some more, freezes up and starts to go on a rampage.

"What the bloody hell Alfred! I thought I told you that you weren't allowed to date him! Alfred! You better get back over here before I—"

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"I just felt like I wasn't being who I really was. That and how I was in girls' clothes instead of my own made me feel ten times even worse. D-Do you think that you can forgive me?"

Matthew said, knowing that he pretty much squeaked at the end, hoping that Elizaveth can forgive him for not really being "Matthew" and was "Matilda" instead.

Elizaveth, who was sitting at Matthew's left, started to squeal herself and brought him into a friendly hug.

"How can I say no to that face? You're forgiven! Besides, I already knew that you were a guy, so no damage done there."

Elizaveth says, winking at Matthew as she leans closer to him, making sure that he knew that she wasn't upset at him.

"You managed to convince Gilly—which I approve of you guys together by the way—and you convinced Roddie until I pointed out to him that your Adam's Apple was showing~!"

At Matthew's horrified expression on his face, Elizaveth laughs, making Matthew calm down a bit.

"I'm amazed that Gilly wasn't able to notice it, but then again neither did Roddie~ Meh, I feel bad now, are you okay right now?"

Elizaveth says, hoping that what she said will make Matthew realize that he wasn't the only one who hadn't noticed that he could have been discovered.

Matthew snaps out of it, giving an apologetic look to Elizaveth, before patting her on the hand.

"I didn't think of that, so I'm guessing that neither did Gilbert. I don't hold it against you, as long as there was no harm done right? That's all that matters."

Matthew smiles at Elizaveth, making Elizaveth bring him into another hug as he feels embarrassed.

"You are such a sweetheart~! I knew that you would suit Gilly perfectly!"

Elizaveth says, making Matthew wonder if Gilbert really is her brother.

"Elizaveth?"

Matthew says, seeing if she minds him calling her by her full name. Hell, Matthew knows that he only lets his friends call him "Mattie-dear" and his family call him "Matt" or "Mathieu" or "Mattie", so he doesn't know how Elizaveth would like for him to call her.

Elizaveth, seeing as Matthew was stuck on what to call her, offers him a smile and holds a peace-sign to him as she scoots her chair close to his.

"How about we re-introduce ourselves? That way we can know what to call each other. Does that sound good to you?"

Matthew smiles at Elizaveth, holding up a peace-sign himself as they both laugh.

"Hi! My name is Elizaveth. Most of my friends call me Liz, Eli, or Beth. Nice to meet you!"

Elizaveth says, holding out her hand to shake hands with Matthew.

"Hi. My name is Matthew. My friends call me Mattie-dear and my family calls me Matt. Nice to meet you Liz."

Matthew says, bringing his hand to shake Elizaveth's, knowing that both are trying to not laugh at how silly they were being.

"So…how old are you Mattie?"

Elizaveth says, trying hard not to laugh, but seeing Matthew struggling to do the same makes it harder for her to not do it.

It didn't matter though, because both ended up laughing.

Matthew was laughing because of the silly look on Elizaveth's face.

Elizaveth was laughing because she knew that she was making a funny face.

"I-I was w-w-wondering if Gilbert was currently with someone right now?"

Matthew asks, hoping that the answer was no so that he won't feel guilty about flirting with him and possibly getting together with him—

'_No! I won't let myself be used just for someone else's benefit!_'

Matthew shakes his head as he thinks, oblivious to the calculating smirk on Elizaveth's face.

"Well…"

Elizaveth starts, hoping that she got Matthew's attention…

Yep, he's hooked.

"I don't feel comfortable saying this in front of all of our friends, so do you mind if I gave you my number and tell you personally? Don't worry, everyone will tell you here that I can't lie if my life depended on it."

Elizaveth says, knowing that Matthew would believe her since she hasn't been untruth for about what he's asked of her.

"Besides, I can rub it in Gilly's face that I managed to get your number before he did, no?"

Elizaveth says, laughing at seeing Matthew blush in embarrassment, as she winks at him.

Matthew slowly nods his head, hoping that Elizaveth wasn't just saying stuff to wind him up.

She beams at him, giving him her number as he puts it in his phone, all the while explaining why she calls Gilbert her 'brother'.

"—since I've known him practically all my life, I can tell when he lies to me or vice versa. Even when it comes to me finding out about the girls he'd rather I not know that he dated~!"

Elizaveth says, smiling at Matthew the entire time she finished bashing Gilbert and all of his faults.

"Did I mention how conceited he is? Ugh, he thinks he invented the word 'awesome'! Who the hell would do that? Only Gilly would…"

Matthew tries to hold in his laughter, but with what Elizaveth was saying and the hand gestures that she was giving, it was all he could do to keep it all in.

Until now.

"The word 'awesome'?"

Before he could think about it, he said what he thought aloud.

Elizaveth starts laughing now, making Matthew clutch his sides in a failed attempt to control his laughter as they both try to calm down their breathing.

Attempt failed, of course.

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

Alfred, who got into Matthew's Smart Car® since Matthew took his bike to Maki Yaki©, sends a text to Ivan.

_Hey babe! Whaddaya feel like  
>eatin'? I'm in the mood 4<br>Jap food~!  
>~ HamburgersFTW<em>

He waits for a couple of minutes, starting up the car and checking where the restaurant is before heading off, seeing his phone signaling him that Ivan texted back.

_What do you feel like eating?  
>~ Sunflower Lover<em>

Alfred, laughing at how easily Ivan bends over to make him happy, sends him a quick text telling him the place that he wants to eat at.

_I'm in th mood 4 sushi~!  
>Maki Yaki©?:3<br>~ HamburgersFTW_

He doesn't wait to see what Ivan put; Alfred knows that he'll agree.

So he shifts the change-controller from 'parking' to 'driving' and starts heading towards Ivan's house, hoping that Nataliya wasn't home…

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

He didn't think that it was such a big deal having everyone move around like they were playing the game "Musical Chairs", it was fun talking to whoever was on his right or left. It was when he realized that he was stuck in a corner between Heracles and Kiku that he started get suspicious how everyone was scooting their chairs close to the table to prevent Matthew from escaping.

Escaping what, he didn't know.

But he had a feeling that he was going to find out.

Matthew never ignored his intuition.

"So…"

Heracles says, trying to distract Matthew from noticing that everyone was starting to get closer and listen to what Matthew had to say, placing his hand on Matthew's shoulder.

"We've noticed that you've been acting much happier than you were a few weeks ago…Would you like to tell us why…?"

Matthew, who was wondering why everyone was staring at him, starts to realize that they trapped him and wouldn't free him until he answered.

Hockey Maple! How can they do this to him?

Matthew looks around as if trying to come up with an explanation, and seeing a blond head with a cowlick off to the side, starts to get up.

"If you guys will excuse me, I have to use the restroom right now."

Matthew says, hoping that shifting his hips back and forth looks convincing enough that they'll let him go.

Surprisingly, they did.

Hope fluttering at the bottom of his stomach, Matthew starts to head in the direction of the restrooms hoping that he was being convincing enough, and starts to head to the blond desperately hoping that it was Alfred.

"What do you mean I've ordered enough? _You're_ the one who ordered five bentos! Why can't I order as much for the sushi _and_ the bentos?"

Matthew almost cried tears of happiness at hearing his brother fighting with his boyfriend about food (again).

"_Nyet_ sunflower, do you not see that I'm combining everything so that you can have a selection when we go back to my house? Besides, I thought that you said you were going to pay for half of it, _da_?"

Matthew sees Alfred and Ivan getting their order, looks around and tries to see how he can make it seem like he happened to bump into them.

Seeing that he was trying to Alfred's attention instead of Ivan's, Matthew walks directly in front of Alfred, since he knows that Alfred would notice eventually.

"Oof!"

Alfred says, feeling something coming at him from…the front?

He looks down and sees Matthew rubbing his head at where they collided.

Holding down the sudden urge to attack his older brother and cause attention, he looks at Ivan.

Wearing the same confused expression on his face, Alfred looks back at Matthew.

Matthew blinks up at Alfred, looking confused as to what the hell the pair is doing here at Maki Yaki©. Don't get him wrong, he's grateful that Alfred was there to come to his rescue. Wondering what he's doing there in the first place makes Matthew feel like this was all planned.

Matthew shakes his head, assuming that he's imagining things again.

'_There's no way that Alfred could be that smart!_'

Alfred, who's amused that Matthew looks confused at what he's doing there, whispers something quickly before looking back at Matthew and giving him one of those sibling smiles.

"What's up Mattie?"

Matthew smiles back at Alfred, quickly looking over his shoulder, before asking Alfred something.

"Would you mind if I hang out with you and Ivan for a bit? I promise I'll stay quiet and not get in your way!"

Curious as to what has Matthew acting all panicky; Alfred nods his head, not noticing a certain Russian pouting.

"Sure thing Mattie! You don't mind, do you Vanya?"

Alfred asks, looking Ivan right at the eyes, silently promising that it'll be worth his while if he waits patiently.

Accepting the challenging look in Alfred's eyes, Ivan slowly shakes his head, giving Matthew an apologetic smile.

Matthew smiles at the both of them, relieved to find out that he was leaving.

He feels kind of bad that he'll be leaving his friends, but hell it's worth it if they were going to put him in uncomfortable situations like the one just now.

"What did you guys come in?"

At Matthew's question, Alfred rubs the back of his head.

"I…uh…used your Smart Car®—please don't hurt me!"

Alfred says, holding his hands up to cover his face, not noticing that Ivan and Matthew were silently laughing at his display.

Matthew turns to Ivan, making sure that he speaks loudly and carefully pronunciating everything perfectly.

"Did he forget to put the blankets in the back of the two seats again?"

Ivan, surprised that Matthew spoke to him in Alfred's "room" voice, slowly nods his head in agreement.

"How was _I_ supposed to know that I needed to put the blankets _behind_ the seats?"

He tries to defend himself.

Matthew and Ivan laugh again, much to Alfred's embarrassment.

"Then I guess I'll follow you guys or…?"

Matthew asks, not sure how to word it.

Alfred and Ivan sober up, each trying to think of a solution.

"Would you mind riding the bike home?"

Matthew shakes his head, knowing that Alfred wanted to spend time with Ivan as much as he could.

Alfred laughs, making Matthew look at him in confusion.

"You're funny Mattie! I meant Ivan since he's strong enough; he can get home way before we do. Ain't that right Vanya?"

Alfred says, knowing that Ivan wanted to spend time, but he also knows that Matthew and Alfred need to spend as much time since they'll always be siblings first.

Blood is thicker than water, Alfred said once.

Matthew, not liking that Alfred's putting Ivan in the back burner, starts to leave.

"Hey, where're you goin' Mattie?"

Matthew turns around and looks at Alfred with a grin, catching him off guard.

"I'm going over to our house. I know you guys were going to end up going to my house—it's written all over your face Al. I'll meet you guys there!"

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"Do you think he noticed that we were watching him the entire time?"

Lorelei asks, knowing that she wasn't the only one seeing Matthew flee for his life while he left the gang at the table.

She hears murmurs of "nah", "no…", "dunno" and "huh?" and tries to stop the urge to pick up Kate from the floor and leave them too.

Almost.

"Is he gone?"

Elizaveth asks, looking over her shoulder to see if Matthew really ended up leaving.

Seeing that he did, she looks over at Nataliya and nods her head.

Nataliya starts unpacking all the knives that she has stored on her persona, slowly drawing the attention around her until finally everyone was wondering what else would come out of her dress.

"Now that I have everyone's attention…"

Elizaveth says, making everyone who was focusing on Nataliya, now making everyone focus on her.

"We need to start thinking of a plan for Mattie to get Gilly without having to ruin the whole "I'm not really a girl but a guy" façade…now, how to do that…"

Felik, knowing that Lorelei and Kate haven't known Mattie enough, starts to nudge Lorelei to look at him.

He smiles, hoping that he doesn't sound like a total bitch.

"Hey I don't mean to like rain on your like parade, but you and Kate have to leave now. This is like a talk between like Mattie's friends and Gilbert's friends. I like wish you guys can like stay, but you obviously like can't. I'm like so sorry…"

Felik says, knowing that by the look on Lorelei's face, it didn't sink well.

Kate at that moment decided to pick herself off of the floor.

"We're not leaving until you promise me at least one date with his cousin."

Kate points at Kiku, making Kiku start sputtering at the sudden bargaining that he hopes Felik doesn't do, holding her gaze steady as she sees what Felik will do.

Felik sighs, knowing that he owes Kiku one.

"Fine, you can like have a date with his cousin. But if she like doesn't like it, then that's that. No like trying to get a like second date out of her. You got that Kate?"

Kate nods enthusiastically, knowing that she's going to win Kiku's cousin's heart on their date, and starts to drag Lorelei out the door.

"As I was saying…"

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"I don't even know what you're complaining about Mattie! It's not like he tried to molest you or something right?"

Alfred says, letting Matthew help organize the take-out orders into the appropriate plates, trying to see where Matthew had left the Coca-Cola© the last time he bought some.

Matthew lets out a frustrated sigh.

"Oh sure, you have no idea what happened after you _abandoned_ me to go unpack everything and went to the restroom, do you?"

Alfred, who found the Coke©, looks over to see what has Matthew so frazzled.

"Can't say that I do…"

Alfred says, knowing that Matthew was going to throw that to his face, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

Matthew scoffs, angrily spooning out the rice from the container and throwing the defenseless rice in the bowl, not seeing that Alfred's eyebrows furrowed in more confusion.

"The moment you went running in the house, I was putting away my bike since you obviously weren't going to remind Ivan to do so. When I came in the house, I noticed that you left everything on the kitchen counter. I started to bring out plates, not noticing your weird-o boyfriend looming over me."

Alfred gasps dramatically, reaching over one of the containers and started to nibble on a Crunchy Roll©, not noticing that Matthew smacked his hand with a metal spoon; making him nibble on his fingernail.

"So when I look to see who is behind me, I almost screamed when he started to hug me. He probably thought that I was you, because he kept on muttering about how I was his Sunflower."

Alfred blushes at this, knowing that Ivan only uses that endearment when the two are alone just for him.

"When I started struggling, I think he noticed that I wasn't you. The next thing he said was "Become one with Mother Russia, da?" I almost screamed Al! I thought I pissed in my pants! And then you come in through the archway and start spewing stuff about "Don't you corrupt my innocent older brother's mind!" Honestly Al, I'm older than you! Shouldn't I be saying stuff like that instead of the other way around?"

"So he _did_ molest you! Don't worry Mattie; the Hero will bring justice to the Commie who defiled Canada!"

And insert 'heroic' pose here.

"…what the hockey maple are you talking about this time…?"

Matthew asks slowly, knowing that they weren't getting anywhere if he bothered to think the same way as Alfred. His past experiences will tell you that.

Alfred, realizing that he said that aloud (again), gives Matthew a peace-sign.

"Mind if we use your radio-from-hell-and-back to play the CD from the club Mattie?"

Alfred asks, making sure to use his puppy-dog eyes the entire time that he asked that question.

Matthew sighs before smiling at Alfred.

"You didn't need to use the eyes Al, I was thinking about using it anyway. Did you have a song in mind?"

Alfred grins.

"Yeah, but we need to celebrate first."

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"What did you want to do again?"

Matthew asks Alfred, who was busy convincing Ivan to do something, as he looks at the track number that Alfred put.

Matthew may not know the name to every single song on the CD, but when he hears the beginning he can tell what song it is.

Alfred looks at Matthew with a slightly tipsy face as he gets Matthew to stand right beside the radio.

Who knew that Alfred was a lightweight when it came to shitty vodka?

Ivan shakes his head, apparently having the same thoughts as Matthew.

"I wan' chu tah shing meh dah shong tha' I pikkk now, o.k.?"

Matthew, not wanting to deal with an upset Alfred, did what he said as the music started playing.

"_Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh oh  
>Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh oh!<em>"

Matthew blushes, knowing what song he was being forced to sing.

Giving Alfred a pleading look, Matthew turns to switch it to another song that he could sing, not seeing Alfred pulling his hand away from the controls.

"No. Mattie will shing dis shong, o.k.? I wanna hear mahy oller brojer shing. Puleashe?"

Alfred begs Matthew, showing him his puppy-dog eyes as Ivan was chuckling in the background enjoying both brothers embarrass themselves.

Matthew sighs in defeat, slowly nodding his head.

"I'll do it."

Alfred smiles at him.

"_Check it out_

_Going out  
>On the late night<br>Looking tight  
>Feeling nice<br>It's a cock fight  
>I can tell<br>I just know  
>That it's going down<br>Tonight_

"_At the door we don't wait cause we know them  
>At the bar six shots just beginning<br>That's when dick head put his hands on me  
>But you see<em>

"_I'm not here for your entertainment  
>You don't really want to mess with me tonight<br>Just stop and take a second  
>I was fine before you walked into my life<br>Cause you know it's over  
>Before it began<br>Keep your drink just give me the money  
>It's just you and your hand tonight<em>"

Matthew, who was finished with that verse, starts blushing at what Alfred, was telling him what to do concerning body movement and everything.

"_Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh oh  
>Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh oh<em>

"_Midnight  
>I'm drunk<br>I don't give a fuck  
>Wanna dance<br>By myself  
>Guess you're outta luck<br>Don't touch  
>Back up<br>I'm not the one  
>Buh bye<em>

"_Listen up it's just not happening  
>You can say what you want to your boyfriends<br>Just let me have my fun tonight  
>Aiight<em>

"_I'm not here for your entertainment  
>You don't really want to mess with me tonight<br>Just stop and take a second  
>I was fine before you walked into my life<br>Cause you know it's over  
>Before it began<br>Keep your drink just give me the money  
>It's just you and your hand tonight<em>"

Matthew gulps, dreading what was going to come next. Alfred gives him the signal, telling him that the bridge to the song was coming. Matthew mentally groans.

"_Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh oh  
>Break break<br>Break it down_

"_In the corner with your boys you bet 'em five bucks  
>You'd get the girl that just walked in but she thinks you suck<br>We didn't get all dressed up just for you to see  
>So quit spilling your drinks on me yeah<em>

"_You know who you are  
>High fivin' and talking shit, but you're going home alone arentcha?<em>"

While the bridge was being sung, Matthew started to move around like he knew what he was doing.

Sadly, he didn't.

Although, he was wondering who was going to be his "echo" when the last two verses came…

Until he saw Alfred go up to him and join him in his awful singing.

"_Cause I'm not here for your entertainment  
>(No)<br>You don't really want to mess with me tonight  
>Just stop and take a second<br>(Just stop and take a second)  
>I was fine before you walked into my life<br>Cause you know it's over  
>(Know it's over)<br>Before it began  
>Keep your drink just give me the money<br>It's just you and your hand tonight  
>(It's just you and your hand)<em>

"_I'm not here for your entertainment  
>(No no no)<br>You don't really want to mess with me tonight  
>Just stop and take a second<br>(Just take a second)  
>I was fine before you walked into my life<br>Cause you know it's over  
>Before it began<br>Keep your drink just give me the money  
>It's just you and your hand tonight<br>Yeah oh_"

A two second pause filled the air before Ivan's clapping over rode the silence, making Alfred laugh and Matthew sigh in relief.

"That was—how do you say it—awesome!"

Matthew could have sworn he saw Alfred's chest inflate itself with praise at the compliment, while Matthew goes off to the kitchen to get something to drink.

"My congratulations for singing so well comrade. I would have never suspected you had a talent for singing."

Ivan says, slightly ignoring a clingy Alfred all over his arm, giving Matthew his sincerest smile.

Caught off guard at the honesty, Matthew blushes as he mumbles a quiet "thank you", heading in the kitchen faster than he would have liked.

Seeing Alfred become paler than usual, Matthew motions for Ivan to bring him up to the kitchen sink, knowing that it was only a matter of time before Alfred—

Uh…never mind…

Walking back into the living room, Matthew notices his phone on vibrate.

Picking it up, he sees a number that he doesn't recognize.

_Do you mind if we talk (not text)  
>in the next couple of minutes?<br>~ Liz_

Getting an idea as to who was texting him, Matthew perks up and looks through his pockets in his search for Elizaveth's number.

He dials the number and waits, hearing Alfred calm down his hacking in the kitchen.

"_Hello?_"

Matthew blushes, suddenly remembering that he made a fool out of himself earlier that day, and tries not to sound as nervous as he felt.

"H-Hi Liz, it's me Matthew."

Pause.

"_Eeeeeeek! How are you Mattie! _What_ a surprise to have _you_ call _me_~! Why, it would make a _certain someone_ jealous if they found out!_"

Elizaveth says, making Matthew giggle as he hears someone go "What the hell Liz? Who are you talking to?" over the phone.

"L-Liz? Is everything okay over there?"

He hears laughter ringing in the background followed by a "Is that who I think it is?" some fumbling, the sound of a pan hitting someone's face, and finally a few seconds of silence.

"_Mattie? Sorry about that, _Gilbert_ couldn't control his excitement when he found out that you called my phone. But it's all good now~!_"

Wondering what all the commotion was about, Matthew decided to not ask.

"So…uh…you wanted to talk?"

"_Hm? Oh that! I was wondering if you wanted to know what Gilly did for a living~! You know, since you two are going to be living together and adopting little ones—_"

Matthew hears a "What the hell Liz? Hand over that phone right now! You're gonna freak her out if you keep saying shit like that!" a "What the hell are you two doing this time?" and a "Hi Roddie~! I was going to tell Mattie what Gilly works as and he started to tell me that I'm giving her T.M.I. Do you think I'm doing that?" before there's silence.

"Um, you know what Liz? I think that I have to kick my younger brother and his boyfriend out of the kitchen right now…they most likely made a mess, so I'll…call you later?"

Matthew says, hoping that Elizaveth heard him and texts him what Gilbert does later on.

"_Look what you did Gilly! Now she's hanging up because of _your_ stupidity! I hope you're happy now! Okay Mattie, I'll send you a text when you can call me, okay? Never be afraid that you'll be texting me at a wrong time; I'll always answer back, alright?_"

Matthew smiles, before laughing in the phone.

"Deal!"

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

"What time did you say you wanted to have your siesta again?"

Kiku asks, looking over at Heracles, as he brings out two strawberry flavored mochis for the both of them.

Heracles, propped up on the couch, sits upright and lets Kiku sit right next to him as he sets down the mochi in front of them.

Kiku sighs, knowing that Heracles wasn't going to answer until he says something first.

"The reast you can do is ask what's wrong."

Kiku mutters, not noticing that Heracles was giving him a smirk.

"If I did that, then you would freeze up and refuse to answer me. Am I wrong?"

Heracles says, noticing that said person did freeze up, leaning his head against Kiku's shoulder.

Kiku drops his head before sighing and bringing himself up to Heracles' eye level.

"I feel guilty about something that I did a while back."

Heracles blinks, not expecting for the Asian man to admit it so quickly.

"If it's about the first time we had sex, let me just say that we both agreed to it and—"

Kiku shake his head, blushing in embarrassment at what Heracles was saying.

"It's not about you Hera. It's about Berwald, Gilbert, and Ivan."

Heracles slowly nods his head, having a suspicion that there was a reason for the Asian's sudden lack of an appetite for the past couple of days, but gives Kiku's hand a squeeze of encouragement.

Kiku gives him a weak smile, squeezing back.

"If I had known that he was going to keep them in it for so rong, then I wouldn't have had agreed to it in the first prace. Maybe I should terr Ivan to stop the project once and for arr and—"

Heracles brings Kiku into a hug, startling the Asian at being cut off from saying his plans, and just leans into the hug.

"You tried your best Kiku. Gilbert and Berwald know how to handle themselves ever since that first started. The most you can hope for is that Ivan suddenly lost interest in pursuing his doctoral degree in adult psychology."

Kiku nods his head, knowing that only a certain blond-haired American can sway Ivan's mind…

**xCOxOxxCoxCOxOxxCoxoCxxOxOCx**

He shakes his head, turning his back away from staring at the window and walking towards his bedroom door, hoping that what he does won't affect his loved ones in any way.

"_Don't worry about it. You know what you'll do once the time comes. You've always had that; knowing what to do when the time calls for it. Just make sure that it'll end up benefiting more than harming…_"

He sighs, remembering what his boyfriend said to him that night when his world ended up tumbling upside down.

He sees a yellow canary standing on the ledge outside of the window, chirping softly. He tries to open the window slowly, wishing that the canary will stay on the ledge long enough for him to pet it.

Sensing that something was going to harm it, the canary stares right in his slate blue eyes before flying off into the night.

Ludwig sighs, knowing what he has to do.

He just hopes that it ends up for the greater good instead of ruining everything.

* * *

><p><strong>Liu - Thailand <strong>


	11. Los Translaciones y La Musica

**Author's Note:** Yeah, thought that I would post a "chapter" explaining all of the music and the phrases/sentences that I've used in different languages up until now. Sorry if this is a bit later than originally planned:/ I know, I haven't updated in a while…but that's because I've been busy with college! I warned all of you in my profile that I was gonna be busy, so don't become impatient with me and demand to have these chapters updated and already posted on here x ;;; Also, I'm trying to get this going without having to break down and remember where I left off…so please be patient as I try to scramble my brains out for another solution and not end up having writer's block (again). Thank you for your patience and hopefully the next chapter is within eye seeing distance soon. Until we meet again! :)

_**Translations and all of the music (so far) from **_**"Aboiteau"**

_**Music~**_

**Ch. 3:** "Addicted" by Saving Abel; "You and I (Deadmau5 Remix)" by Medina

**Ch. 4:** "Just Be Friends (Music Box Version)" by Luka Megurine; "Canterella" by Kaito Shion

**Ch. 5:** "A Piece of You" by Luka Megurine

**Ch. 7:** "Derezzed (Avicii Remix)" by Daft Punk

**Ch. 8:** "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" by Panic! At The Disco

**Ch. 9:** "Take It Off" by Ke$ha; "If I Had You" by Adam Lambert; "Money Honey" by Lady Gaga; "The Bad Touch" by Bloodhound Gang; "Blackout" by Breathe Carolina; "Gay Bar" by Electric Six; "Beautiful Bride" by Flyleaf

**Ch. 10:** "Fashion" by Lady Gaga; "A Tap Dancer's Dilemma" by Diablo Swing Orchestra; "U + Ur Hand" by P!nk

_**Translations~**_

**Ch. 1:** Á Deux (French) = where two people can be able to converse in a secluded area  
>Mon Dieu (French) = my God! Or oh my God!<p>

**Ch. 5:** Non (French) = no

**Ch. 6:** Canorous (English) = melodious or musical

**Ch. 8:** Mi pequeño tomatito (Spanish) = my little tomato  
>Allô? Ça va très horrible pour toi, non mon cher? (French) = Hello? It's going very horrible for you, no my dear?<br>Ah bon? Mais, ce n'est pas que je veux parler avec toi (French) = Oh really? But that's not what I wanted to talk about with you  
>Ma Lapin (French) = my bunnyrabbit  
>Que horrible de toi! (French) = That was rude!<br>Très interesant cette nuit (French) = Very interesting tonight  
>Les conditions que tu as agreed de (French) = The conditions that you have agreed to<br>Souviens-tu, non? (French) = You remember, no?  
>L'amour c'est mon nombre (French) = "Love" is my name<br>Da (Russian) = yes  
>Nyet (Russian) = no<br>Amigos (Spanish) = friends  
>Fratello (Italian) = brother<p>

**Ch. 9:** Si mi querido…Yo se, yo se (Spanish) = Yes my dear/precious…I know, I know  
>Porque no? (Spanish) = Why not?<br>Mi…en Español (Spanish) = My…in Spanish  
>¡Ah perdon Lovi! (Spanish) = Oh, sorry Lovi!<br>¿_Yo_ te hise daño? …si sabia que tu hibas a ser estó… (Spanish) = _I've_ done damage? …if I knew that you were going to do that  
>Lovi, si no paras ahorita… (Spanish) = Lovi, if you don't stop right now…<br>Mein Gott (German) = my God  
>Si…yo pensé (Spanish) = Yes…I thought<br>Perdon querido (Spanish) = Sorry love/precious/dear  
>¿Que pasó? (Spanish) = What happened?<br>¡Ay Dios Mio~! (Spanish) = Oh my God~! or Scandalous~!  
>Entonces empesamos ahorita, no? (Spanish) = Then we should start now, no?<br>Buenas noches…bunea note (Spanish…Italian) = Good night  
>Che palle! (Italian) = Sucks balls! or Fuck that!<br>Ma fil (French) = my daughter  
>Mierda (Spanish) = Shit<br>Ton père est DJing cette moment (French) = Your father is DJing this moment  
>Oui papa,…je vien (French) = yes papa,…I am coming<br>Oú est…? (French) = Where is…?  
>Heure (French) = hour<p>

**Ch. 10:** demirep (English) = an expensively paid British whore  
>Très très moche (French) = Very very ugly<br>Was? (German) = What?  
>Ja (German) = Yesyeah  
>Quoi?! (French) = What?!<p>

**Berwald's Speech Impediment:**

Ah 'm t'xtin' T'no 'bout p'ck'n' up P'ter fr'm K'nderg'rt'n. Yoo? = I'm texting Tino about picking up Peter form Kindergarten. You?  
>Jus' Matth's. Christ'n's th' sam' as ev'r. Why do ya 'sk? = Just Matthias. Christian's the same as ever. Why do you ask?<br>Why 's he us'n' a cr'yon fer? = Why is he using a crayon for?  
>Why ar' ya on th' gro'nd? = Why are you on the ground?<br>Ah b't ya f've doll'rs. An' Ah s'y th't 't's a shopp'n l'st = I bet you five dollars. And I say that it's a shopping list  
>Ah th'nk th't ya ow' me f've doll'rs r'ght n'w G'lb'rt = I think you owe me five dollars right now Gilbert<br>An' Ah w'n = And I won  
>S'met'mes I w'nder h'w he can b' s' g'll'ble = Sometimes I wonder how he can be so gullible<br>Ah g't th' feel'n' th't ya wanna ask m' s'meth'n'. Wh't 's 't 'bo't? = I get the feeling that you want to ask me something. What is it about?  
>S'met'm's yer tah easy tah re'd Gilb'rt. Yeah, ah st'll r'm'mb'r th't, wh't m'k's ya th'nk th't ah don't? Ah'll nev'r ferg'v' h'm fer do'n' th't tah T'no = Sometimes your too easy to read Gilbert. Yeah, I still remember that, what makes you think that I don't? I'll never forgive him for doing that to Tino<p>

**Alfred's slurred speech:**  
>I wan' chu tah shing me dah shong tha' I pikkk = I want you to sing me the song that I pick<br>Mattie will shing dis shong…wanna hear mahy oller brojer shing. Puleashe? = Mattie will sing this song…want to hear my older brother sing. Please?


End file.
